Wait For It
by Clarissetucker
Summary: Brady was used to a quiet, safe life. That is, until her father died and she ended up moving to NYC. Little does she know how tangled up she'll get with the new Broadway hit, Hamilton, and its creator...
1. Chapter 1

_Brady had only ever relied on two people: her dad and her best friend, Hannah. So when her dad passed away without any warning, Hannah dropped everything and rushed back to North Carolina to help see Brady through anything she needed._

 _Brady slept-walked through the couple months following the incident. She arranged for the funeral, packed up her dad's home, her childhood home, and continued to mourn in a gloomful daze as she waited for the house to sell._

 _Without Hannah, Brady truly believed her sanity would have died with her father. Hannah watched over Brady like a second mother, and even went as far as to persuade Brady to leave North Carolina and live with her for a while in her apartment in New York City._

…

"Hannah, what was that for?" Brady turned to her friend who stood to the left of the love-seat, remote in hand.

"Your romantic comedies will be waiting for you when you get back, Brady. But hey, since the TV is off for the first time in the last three days, what if you, gasp, took a shower? Ever heard of that before?" While Hannah was talking she inched closer to Brady, who was sprawled out on the couch like a human stain. Hannah caught hold of the blanket Brady had been styling since who-knows-when and quickly yanked it away before Brady could resist otherwise.

"Not my blanket, no, the horror!" Brady cried in faux terror as she flung her head to the side so that her blonde waves covered her eyes, then hugged her knees to her chest as if this maneuver would make her disappear from Hannah's sight.

"Alright, Ms. Drama," Hannah laughed, "you can finish your oscar-worthy performance later. But if you don't get in that shower right now I'll revoke cookie privileges."

"Fine, fine, I give up. You've found my weakness, o non-merciful one." With a humph, Brady rose from the couch, which now seemed to be sporting an attractive indent of her body, and slumped towards the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, Brady was showered and dressed in jeans paired with a white shirt and sneakers. Her hair was down and she had applied some light mascara before allowing Hannah to inspect her. "Nicely done!" Hannah approved. "Don't you feel better now?" She raised her eyebrows as if to say 'I told you so' while leading them both out the door, locking it behind them.

"Cleanliness is for the weak," deadpanned Brady, not willing to give her friend the satisfaction of being right. Secretly, the shower had made Brady feel good. It had been two months since her dad's death, and she finally felt ready to take one or two baby-steps forward.

…

Walking down the streets of New York City left Brady feeling dazzled. The bagel shops, department stores, and yellow cabs that they passed were just as she imagined they'd be. Even the gleaming lights of the city seemed to emerge in the late-afternoon atmosphere just for her. It had always been a dream of hers to live here. Actually, it was a dream she and Hannah had shared back when they were high school seniors together. So when they both got accepted to colleges in NYC, they freaked. Unfortunately, Brady and her father couldn't afford the cost, so she settled for a college not far from her home in North Carolina, while Hannah left for the big city to pursue a career in acting. Ever since then Brady had stayed in North Carolina, keeping her father company and settling for a job in the publication business. It was an insanely boring job she was glad to quit when Hannah insisted she spend some time living with her. "You can always find another boring desk job," Hannah had told her. And Brady knew she was right.

Hannah noticed her companion's dazed look. "Whatcha thinkin bout?" she asked with a grin.

Brady blinked away her daydream and replied with an exaggerated sigh, "Oh, you know, just trying to remember how wonderful life was before you dragged my ass out of bed." Hannah laughed in response and playfully shoved her shoulder. "But really, why am I going to your work with you? I'll only get in the way."

Hannah rolled her eyes as they turned the corner and headed down Broadway. "First of all, you won't be in the way. Secondly, you desperately needed to be reminded of what the outdoors looked like." Hannah gestured around her. " And finally, you love all things broadway just like me. Need I go on?"

"Yes."

"Brady, stop being an antisocial turtle, take a breath, and try to enjoy yourself today. I promise you that at the end of the day you'll be begging me to take you back."

Brady mumbled some incoherent response and dragged her feet the rest of the way in an attempt to show Hannah how much she resented being removed from her couch indent. It wasn't until the theater where Hannah worked came into view that Brady became nervously excited. The gigantic golden-yellow posters outside the theater stared back at her in an intimidating way that left her in awe. She knew she was being silly in letting her nerves get the best of her. After all, she loved the music from Hamilton, and if Hannah could manage to perform in front of hundreds of people every day for the Broadway hit, Brady could handle watching her do so from the background. Hannah gave Brady a knowing glance as she unlocked the door and led them both inside.

…

The silent darkness consumed Brady the moment the door to the outside slammed shut. Hannah turned on a hallway light in the narrow passage as they made their way to a set of wooden stairs. The stairs led them into another hallway, from which they took a right, and stopped in a corridor lined with many doors. The wooden door in front of them (it seemed everything in this building was made out of wood) wore three gold paper stars with the names Hannah, Mia, and James. The door next to this one had identical stars with the names Rénee, Jasmine, and Phillipa written on them. Looking down the hall, Brady saw that almost every door had a couple of stars, most likely bearing more names.

Hannah opened the door to her dressing room and set her bag down on the couch against the right wall. Across from it on the left wall was a vanity with three mirrors. "You can put your purse near mine and then explore the theater if you want. Well, I know you want to, so scratch that. Just don't break anything."

"Psh, I don't break things that often," Brady scoffed as she removed her satchel and set it on the couch. Hannah looked at her with an eyebrow raised and arms crossed, a look Brady had received from her many times before. Brady knew it'd be futile to argue, so changed the subject. "Why is it so quiet here? Does the whole cast meditate before every show?"

"It's because we're the first ones here dummy. I figured you'd want to have a look around by yourself before the show starts and everyone else arrives. So you run along and not break things, while I stay here and relax before I have to get ready."

When Hannah finished speaking, Brady felt a sudden pang of admiration for her best friend. Hannah was curvy and slightly shorter than Brady, and there was no doubt in her mind that Hannah was ten times prettier than anyone she'd ever met. With her looks and talent combined, it was no wonder that Hannah was hired to be apart of Hamilton's ensemble, she thought. Hannah moved to put her brown hair into a bun when Brady suddenly embraced her in a hug. "Thank you. For everything."

Hannah laughed and gave Brady a quick pat on the back before pushing her back into the hallway. "Stay out of trouble," she said as she clicked the door shut. Brady was left alone in the silence, wondering which way to go.

…

It took her a few turns and some backtracking, but eventually Brady found her way to the stage. Slowly stepping past the curtain, goosebumps began to make their way down her body, and she shivered in response. It was eerie how dark and silent it was. But as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting a smile crept towards the corners of her mouth. The atmosphere reminded her of the glee episode where Rachel and Kurt snuck into a Broadway theatre, just like this one. Brady imagined the seats in front of her packed with an excited audience. She looked left and right to make sure she was alone, the silence assuring her she was, and proceeded to dive deep into her imagination. She saw herself dressed in a black, sparkling dress with her skin painted green. She was Elphaba and it was the opening night of Wicked.

Standing center stage, Brady began singing her favorite song from the show, 'No Good Deed'. She started off at a whisper, but grew slightly louder as the song went on.

 _"One question haunts and hurts. Too much, too much to mention. Was I really seeking good, or just seeking attention."_ At this point Brady was moving around the stage, fully enveloped by her dream world. She could picture the crowd looking at her in admiration, her own voice wrapping them up in the story. Brady began to spin in a circle while attempting to hold the longest note of the song, but halfway through her twirl noticed a figure behind her.

On stage there was a structure with a staircase that led to a loft area, probably to give the cast more places to move around and to give the performance more dimension, or something of that nature. Standing up on the second story, with his forearms resting on the banister, stood a man in the shadows. Brady's voice faltered. She let the note she was holding fade away until it was quiet again.

She couldn't see his face, but knew he was watching her, and probably had been for a while. Brady refused to let this stranger make her feel embarrassed, so she crossed her arms over her chest as the two stared at eachother for a couple silent moments.

"Don't mind me, keep going if you want," said the shadow looking down on her. He pushed himself up from his leaning position and started to make his way towards the staircase.

"I thought I was alone," Brady said more like a question than a statement. She watched the man begin to descend the stairs until a sliver of light revealed who he was.

There was no mistaking him: the dark hair pulled back in a bun with some pieces coming loose, his even darker eyes that seemed to speak without making a sound, the hands resting in his jean pockets. Brady had seen his face on magazine covers before. This was Lin-Manuel Miranda, the star and creator of the musical Hamilton. And Brady had just made a complete fool of herself in front of him.

Lin stopped halfway down the staircase and let out a laugh. Brady let her arms uncross, suddenly not sure what to do with them. "What?" Brady asked, hoping he wasn't laughing at what he'd just seen her do in her assumed privacy. She wondered how long he'd been watching her.

"I bet if someone walked in right now they'd think we were rehearsing The Phantom of the Opera, considering where we're standing. And the dark lighting. It's almost perfect." Lin hummed part of a song from the musical while making his way to the stage floor. As he got closer, Brady noticed his t-shirt had a Star Wars quote on it. Not to mention it hugged his biceps well.

A meager "Ha" is all Brady could manage to get out. Her star-struck embarrassment glued her feet to the floor. She could feel a blush rising as he got closer, and prayed that the darkness would hide it.

"I'm Lin by the way" he said as he pulled one of his hands from his pocket and extended it towards Brady. She stared at it for a moment until she realized how weird she was being. She shook his hand back, taking note of how warm his hand was against her cool skin. "Uh, hi Lin, I'm Brady," she said as confidently as possible given the circumstances.

"Wow, that's a nice name. To match a lovely voice of course. Are you new to the cast? Of course you're not new, I would know if we were hiring someone new. I wouldn't be surprised if you were though, after seeing the show you put on for your audience there." Lin broke their eye contact and glanced at his shoes. His rambling made Brady feel more at ease somehow, as if his fast-paced, long sentences would make up for her short-lived ones. She felt like his silent, brooding manner before this moment was all an act. Maybe he'd been taking on the Phantom's persona. However, his praise (whether it be truthful or out of pity, probably the latter she thought) reddened the blush in her cheeks. Now more than ever she wished she had stayed at the apartment.

"Well thanks, that's high praise, coming from you," Brady replied, finding it hard to keep her eyes on his for more than a second. "And no, I'm not apart of the cast, although I do a good Hercules Mulligan if need be." Brady winked, and Lin laughed out loud at this. She could tell it was genuine. Either that or his pity party was in full swing. In both scenarios, his laugh made her more comfortable, so she continued. "My best friend, Hannah, let me come to work with her today. So I was just looking around backstage, and onstage I guess, but not breaking anything, and embarrassing myself." Brady mentally kicked herself for saying more than two words, a safe amount for her. But Lin, being the charming one, laughed again at her dry sense of humor. His laugh was so pleasant she wanted to never stop hearing it. She noticed the way his eyes crinkled in the cutest way when he did it. _Brady, stop it now,_ she chastised herself. _He's a superstar and is probably engaged to a freaking model._ But when Brady snuck a glance at his left hand, she didn't see a ring.

Before Lin could reply, the lights on stage sparked to life, and they both squinted at the sudden brightness. Brady heard a couple voices coming from stage left and knew that the crew had arrived to prepare for that night's show. It felt like she was being snapped back to reality. And with no more darkness to hide herself from Lin's handsome gaze, Brady fell back into her habit of being an antisocial turtle. "I should go find Hannah," she murmured. "It was nice to meet you." She gave him a small smile before quickly making an exit back the way she came.

"I'll see you around," she heard him say just as she was about to turn the corner. Their eyes met, causing Brady's heart to stutter, before she walked forward so that he was out of sight. Brady released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.


	2. Chapter 2

Brady made it back to Hannah's dressing room to find that the two other girls whom shared the space had arrived. Brady shook Mia and James's hands and introduced herself. James explained how Mia and herself knew almost everything about Brady (in the creepiest of ways, Mia added) because of how much Hannah gushed over her. The four of them continued to sit around and talk as if they had known each other since birth. It was only when there was a knock on the door that they all took a break. The door opened and a tall woman with her wig already on poked her head through. "What's going on in here?" asked the floating head in a fake stern voice.

"Rénee, come meet my friend Brady!" Hannah said excitedly. Brady rose from her spot on the floor and shook hands with the super-happy stranger (Brady felt like she'd be shaking a lot of hands tonight). It seemed to Brady that everyone who worked for this show had an uncontainable happiness about them, and it made her want to be surrounded by them for the rest of her life.

"I feel like I know you're life story from how much Hannah has told me!" While speaking, Rénee managed to flawlessly turn the hand-shake into a hug, making Brady chuckle. "Join the club," Mia quipped, moving over to give Rénee a place to sit on the couch. Rénee released Brady and plopped down between Mia and Hannah.

"So," began Brady, letting her curiosity get the best of her, "which role do you play?" Brady knew Hannah, Mia, and James were Ensemble members, but she had no clue what Rénee's role was. After all, she'd only ever heard the musical. She knew the voices, but was having trouble matching them to the person they belonged to. Besides Lin, who Brady had known played the lead.

"I play the _sassiest_ role of all, to match my personality. Angelica Schuyler." As Rénee said this, she threw her hand in the air and did a sassy snap. They all giggled at this. Brady was about to express her complete adoration for the character when she caught herself. The last thing she wanted to do was look like a crazy fan in front of a famous person. She'd rather look like a crazy fan in private.

"Oh nice, I love the song 'Satisfied'. I'm pretty sure I can sing it the whole way through." _Nice job Brady,_ she thought to herself _. Now you only look like a semi-psychotic fan._

"I'll have to hold you to that! Next time we hang I'm going to need to hear it for myself. But in the meantime, I have to finish getting ready, as you three should be doing." Rénee squinted her eyes at the three other cast members before departing.

…

Thirty minutes later, Hannah, James, and Mia were in their costumes with their hair done, and the makeup artist was finishing up on James. Brady was sitting on the couch with Hannah, attempting to take a good picture of her wearing her costume, but to no avail, since Hannah wouldn't stop making ugly faces. "If you don't smile for me like a normal person I won't hesitate to post one of these ugly photos of you." Hannah let out a screech and dived for Brady's phone. They both were laughing uncontrollably, wrestling for the phone, when there was yet another knock on the door.

"Come in," said Hannah, and the door opened to reveal a tall, built man dressed in colonial-period style. He also had a headband wrapped around his forehead, which Brady thought he pulled off pretty well.

"Just wanted to let you guys know that we're circling up in five minutes." He then noticed Brady. "Hey there, I'm Oak. You must be Brady. Lin told me. You three!" Oak directed his attention back to the other girls in the room, "Y'all should bring Brady to the circle."

"Don't worry, we have it under control," James said, but by then Oak had already left, leaving the door ajar. Brady looked into the hall where Oak had just been and saw groups of cast members passing by, all decked out in their Revolutionary outfits. But not even a spectacle like that could take Brady's mind off the fact that Lin had told Oak about her. _What did he say about me?_

…

Not much later, the four of them made their way to 'the circle room' as Mia called it. It wasn't really a circular room, just the room that the whole cast circled up in as a pre-show ritual.

When they entered the spacious area, Brady felt one-hundred percent self conscious. Almost everyone in the room had a costume on, minus herself. Never before had Brady wanted to wear a colonial dress, but right now it was her only wish.

Hannah, Mia, and James started to make their way towards the middle of the circle, talking to other cast members along the way. Brady, however, felt overwhelmed. She didn't know the majority of these people, there were _a lot_ of them, and she didn't think she was very good at socializing anyhow. So Brady let her anxieties take control and clung to the outside of the circle, close enough so that she looked apart of it but also far enough that she wasn't swallowed whole by it. The room filled with voices, all talking over one another, while Brady twiddled her thumbs, content with observing.

"You aren't going to start singing are you?" said a voice near Brady's ear. Brady nearly jumped out of her skin even though the last thing a normal person would be scared of in a room full of noise is another noise. She turned away from the circle to be met with none other than Lin's face less than a foot away from her own. His mischievous grin made it almost impossible for Brady not to grin as well.

"I was actually about to go ahead and finish my song from earlier, until you interrupted just now." Brady couldn't believe she could joke about the embarrassing incident so soon after it happened, but it felt natural with Lin. _That's probably how famous people make everyone feel,_ Brady thought.

"Ah man, I should've just hung back in the shadows like last time," Lin said with a laugh in his voice. As another cast member walked by to join the circle, Lin tapped him on the shoulder and said something in his ear. The cast member nodded in acknowledgement and continued towards the circle.

"Ahh yes. Top secret theater business," Brady remarked with a smirk. "If there's one thing I know about the performing arts, it's that everything happens behind closed curtains." _That's it Brady,_ she thought. _Befriend him with your sarcasm. That'll charm him for sure._

"That's why our show is such a hit. We perform the show in costumes and everything, but never open the curtains. All the audience hears are muffled voices. They love it." Lin matched Brady's sarcasm without missing a beat, something she really appreciated. The two of them laughed at their created scenario. "I was just telling Chris to go ahead and lead the circle for today," Lin explained.

"Oh, gotcha. Who normally does it?"

"Me," said Lin, looking away from Brady towards the circle.

"Why not today?" Brady asked. _Please don't say because I looked awkward standing here alone._

"Because you're our guest, and you need someone around to keep you from bursting into song." Lin took his eyes off the circle to meet Brady's, to which she glanced at the floor and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"That's true, I am feeling a song coming on… _Loathing, unadulterated loathing,"_ Brady hummed quietly so that he could hear, her smile growing along with his. Before she could make it to the second verse of her Wicked reprise, Lin's hand rose and gently covered her mouth. Their eyes met, and Lin let a laugh out that he had been trying to keep in. Brady too let out a muffled laugh from beneath his palm. When he dropped his hand from her mouth she could still feel it there, still feel the warmth, despite the fact that it had only been there for probably a millisecond. Brady was about to say something when the man named Chris stood on a chair and cleared his throat. The noise in the room dropped to a low murmur.

"Before we begin, I have a couple of announcements to make. First off, don't forget that we're all meeting at The Garden rooftop bar tonight, the one near Central Park. Yes, this is directed at you, Leslie." Everyone chuckled. Lin leaned over and whispered to Brady, "Leslie is the forgetful one." It took all of Brady's willpower to listen to his words because her mind was preoccupied, honed in on the fact that when Lin leaned over their arms gently touched. _Stop it Brady,_ she chastised herself. _Stop it now._

"Secondly," Chris continued in his deep yet clear voice, "we have a special guest tonight. Hannah's friend Brady has joined us. Give us a wave Brady!" Brady did not appreciate being called out like this, but knew they were just being nice. Plus, waving was better than speaking. So Brady began to raise her hand to wave when arms wrapped around her knees and she was hoisted in the air on someone's shoulder. She went to see who was holding her, thinking Hannah had performed a sneak attack, but was surprised to find Lin there. "I didn't think she was going to raise her hand, so I decided to raise _her_ instead." Everyone laughed at this, and with all eyes on her Brady did a small wave. She met Hannah's eyes in the crowd. Hannah raised her eyebrow in a way that said ' _What's going on between you two'_ and Brady did a small shrug in response to say ' _I have no idea what you're talking about'._ Being friends for this long had the benefit of being able to hold an entire conversation without speaking.

Lin lowered Brady back onto the ground, releasing his grip from her legs, and Chris began speaking to the group again about that night's upcoming show.

"Apologies if I startled you," Lin said to Brady, one hand in his pocket and the other smoothing his hair back. When he leaned over to talk, their arms barely touched again. "The play on words there was too perfect to pass up."

"You didn't. I was raised by ninjas in a mountain-temple, so nothing startles me. You might even say I had an _uplifting_ experience just then." Brady cocked her head and raised an eyebrow as if to say ' _You're not the only one who can play on words.'_ Of course, Brady was well aware that she was talking to the master of words.

Lin chuckled at this. "Oh really?" he jokingly scoffed, crossing his arms which in-turn caused his biceps to appear even larger. Brady refused to look at them.

"I was actually really tempted to start singing Defying Gravity up there," Brady added, "but then I was afraid you would drop me if I started singing again." Lin smiled, and moved his eyes off of hers to look at Chris, who was still speaking. "I would never drop you," he said in a more serious tone, still not willing to look her in the eye. She thought she saw a faint blush rise in his cheeks, but decided she was either seeing things or it was a side-effect from how hot the room was. Either way Brady didn't know what to take away from his comment. _He's just being a gentleman,_ Brady told herself. _It was a polite response._ But she couldn't keep her heart from doing backflips.

…

After the circle was dismissed, Brady left Lin to go find Hannah. When she did, Hannah lowered her voice, "Remind me to talk to you about your _heightening_ experience after the show." Hannah nudged Brady and wiggled her eyebrows at her, which Brady dutifully ignored.

"There's nothing to discuss," Brady said with a straight face. "Where are we off to now?" Brady asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Well, most of us are in the opening number, so we'll have to get in position. But I have a spot in mind near stage right where you can see most of the stage and not be in anyone's way." Hannah directed Brady towards a spot against the wall, near a wooden chair in the corner. "Ok. You can move anywhere along this wall. Just don't talk to the people with microphones on. And don't sit in that chair," Hannah said as Brady was about to sit in it. "That's a prop. I might not see you until the end of the show, so just stay put. Unless you need water or something, there's a fridge in my dressing room. You remember how to get there, right?"

"Yes," Brady lied.

"Good. Oh and one more thing. Don't sing along. I know it'll be hard for you."

"Don't worry, I've done enough singing for today." Hannah, not knowing what Brady was talking about gave her a quizzical look.

"Well, I should go get in position over on stage left, so see ya later alligator."

"After-while crocodile," Brady replied with a salute.

Brady stood against the wall, happily observing the stage-crew in black running around. She could hear the audience from behind the curtain, but all she could see was the stage. Soon Brady saw Hannah appear on the opposite side of the stage. Hidden by the curtain, both sides of the backstage areas were filling up with cast and crew. Brady watched Rénee climb a staircase near Brady that the audience couldn't see, but was used by the cast to get to the upper deck. As Rénee became cloaked by the shadows up in the loft, Brady turned to see Lin entering from a nearby doorway. He walked over to Brady and leaned his right foot against the wall next to her. Brady tried to act casual, hiding the geeky smile that wanted to escape. "Shouldn't you be getting in position?" Brady asked, thinking that of all people, the star of the show should be ready to walk onstage.

"This is my position. I mean, not right here, but a little further up, behind the curtain there." Lin nodded towards a spot just a few feet in front of her. "I don't go onstage until a couple verses into the number, so I have time." Brady glanced at Lin, who was looking straight ahead. She couldn't help but notice how the off-white of his costume made him glow. She liked how formal he looked.

"You see, these are things I would never find out from just listening to the album."

The next moment, the first seven beats of the opening number began. Brady jumped slightly, but Lin, who was accustomed to it, didn't flinch. Across the stage, Brady saw Leslie step out from behind the curtain. _'How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore…'_

"I'm glad you're here to see it for yourself," Lin whispered. He put his hand on her shoulder as he leaned off the wall and stood up. He gave one last smile to Brady before getting in position, and not long after walking on stage.

…

As time passed, Brady sunk to the floor and sat against the wall. She didn't have a clear view of the whole stage, but the perfect voices of the cast and the parts of the stage she could see drew her into the story. Time seemed to stop, especially during Leslie's solo, 'Wait For It'. She had almost forgotten that she was sitting on the dusty floor backstage when intermission was announced. Brady continued to stare at the now personless stage, soaking up what she'd just experienced. She wasn't aware of how long she had been sitting there when Lin appeared by her side again.

Brady took in a shaky breath as Lin laid some sort of blanket on the ground by her side. His eyes seemed to be smiling at her when he sat down on the cloth, resting his arms on his knees. "The world would end as we know it if I got my costume dirty. Actually my world would end because the costume designer would kill me. Oh, and I brought this for you." Lin handed Brady another blanket he had by his side.

"Thank you," she said as she laid it underneath herself. Looking at Lin, she could see that he had changed into a different costume from before, and his hair was no longer in a ponytail. It was let down and slicked back. "Shouldn't you be off doing important things," Brady remarked, acutely aware of how close he was.

"I am," he replied. Before Brady could process this, he continued: "I don't know if anyone's told you yet, but as our guest, you have to come with us to The Garden tonight. The rooftop bar near Central Park. No exceptions."

Brady hadn't been planning on going, mainly because that meant more socializing, and she thought it was a cast-only thing, but if he insisted…

"Ah, yes. I thought I read that in the Richard-Rogers Theater handbook somewhere."

Brady and Lin continued sitting there for a good ten minutes. They talked about the show so far and Lin told her more about the cast members, throwing in some funny stories about them here and there. Brady thought she could listen to him talk until morning, probably even past then. But as the intermission dwindled to a close, he excused himself to finish getting ready. Brady watched him go for the second time that night. She wondered why he kept talking to her.

When Hannah had to leave the show to come watch over her in North Carolina, Brady was certain that Hannah had to tell people why she was leaving. She couldn't just leave without an explanation. So Lin most likely knew Brady was the reason for Hannah's leave of absence, and probably also knew it was due to Brady's father's passing. _Is that why he's being so nice?_ Brady convinced herself that was the reason. Despite the fact that Brady wanted Lin to be friends with her because he liked her as a person, she knew this could never be the case. She was too plain, she thought, too ordinary. And he was _famous_ for goodness' sake.

And with that, as she watched Alexander take the stage next to Jefferson, she forced herself to forget about Lin, in a way, and focus on supporting Hannah.


	3. Chapter 3

After the show was over, Brady met Hannah back in her dressing room where she changed out of her costume before they left. There was no need to say goodbye to anyone since the cast and crew were reconvening at The Garden rooftop bar. Hannah assured Brady that she was going whether she liked it or not, to which Brady made a face.

Agreeing to take a cab, Hannah hailed one and they both piled into the back. Immediately after Hannah told the driver her address she whipped her head to face Brady, saying, "Spill."

"Spill what?" Brady asked, somewhat aware of what Hannah was asking but not willing to admit it.

"You and Lin. There's totally something there. Mia said she saw you and him sitting together during intermission. Like, close together. We've all come to a consensus that you'd be perfect together."

"Who's all of you?" Brady didn't really want to know who all were discussing her nonexistent love life. The conversation had just started and she was already wildly uncomfortable. Unfortunately she knew from experience that once Hannah had an idea she would hold onto it like a winning lottery ticket.

"All the girls in the cast. While you were on your date with Lin at intermission, we were in Rénee's room discussing what your babies will look like."

"We weren't on a date! We were just talking…"

"In a dark corner, alone."

After what felt like years to Brady the cab pulled up to Hannah's apartment. Hannah covered the fare, and Brady followed her out of the backseat towards the elevator. "What in the world got into your heads?" Brady asked defensively. "Is there a sickness going around that I should be aware of?"

"Yeah, and it's called the love bug. Sorry, that was horrible. If I ever try to be a stand-up comedian please murder me in my sleep. But to answer your question, everyone saw you chatting it up in the circle room. And then, as icing on the cake, he lifted you _on his shoulder._ We all know he likes you."

Brady couldn't help but be flattered that people saw her and Lin as more than friends. But she'd only just met the guy. Plus, she didn't believe Hannah. She couldn't see Lin liking her in that way. Sure, Brady thought they got along well and could see them being friends past today, but that's where she felt her relationship with Lin ended. _He probably feels the same way._

Brady remained quiet when she and Hannah entered the apartment, thinking about that day's events. Hannah opened the fridge to grab a water and Brady made her way over to the couch. Before she could even begin to sit, Hannah dived for her arm and dragged her into the kitchen. "No couch!" Hannah exclaimed while blockading Brady between the kitchen island and the wall, her arms outstretched and her eyes wide. Brady was a little terrified of the crazy, micro-managing Hannah that was cornering her.

"But…" whimpered Brady, "couch…"

"No time. You _are_ going to The Garden with me and that's final. So march on into that room young lady and we'll pick out something for you to wear."

"You know," said Brady, glaring at Hannah over her shoulder as she basically shoved Brady into her room, "I think you take a sick enjoyment out of making me your puppet."

"Yes. Yes I do," replied Hannah with an evil grin.

…

In Brady's mind, she imagined The Garden to be a semi-fancy place on a street corner nearby. Therefore, when Hannah had Brady put on her tight-fitting, short navy blue dress that she'd only worn once or twice and a pair of heels, she got the feeling that this bar might be more high-end than she was used to. Her suspicions were confirmed when the taxi dropped them off at a nice building overlooking Central Park.

Brady was aware that Hannah had strategically made their outfits somewhat similar in order to make Brady feel more at ease. Hannah wore a sparkly black dress, also with heels. Hannah had done both of their makeup, giving them smoky eyes and natural colored lips. The only thing that differed slightly was their hair. After applying the curler to both, Hannah put Brady's dirty blonde hair in a professional-looking ponytail, while leaving her own brown hair down. Brady felt confident and pretty thanks to Hannah, even if she was slightly overwhelmed by the degree of wealth this place emitted.

Brady adjusted her dress as they walked into the lobby, trying to pull the bottom of it down and the top of it up simultaneously. She was already feeling out-of-place when Hannah walked up to the concierge and told the man standing there that they were going to The Garden. "Names?" he asked.

"Brady and Hannah," Hannah replied. The man picked up a clipboard and wrote something down on it, probably checking off their names.

"The elevator is to your left," he gestured. "Take it to floor twenty-six. From there you will find a staircase in front of you that will lead you to the bar."

"Thank you," said Hannah, more accustomed to the fanciness.

On the elevator, Brady couldn't help but feel pampered. "My name was on a list," she said as nonchalantly as possible with a shrug, as if this was something that happened to her everyday.

"Tell me about it. This place sure can make a person feel important."

"But, Hannah." Brady started, not wanting to ruin the mood but also feeling the topic was an important one. "You know I can't afford all this, right? I bet the drink's alone are thirty dollars a glass! And don't say you'll cover it, because today alone you've covered two taxi rides for me."

Hannah smiled to put her friend at ease. "You've nothing to worry about. Lin knows the owner, and every now and then he'll let us have drinks for free. It promotes the place by having _'the cast of Hamilton'_ frequent their establishment, and his normal customers already overpay, so there's money to go around. At least that's what I'm told. All you have to worry about tonight is tipping the waiters."

Brady sighed in relief. _Of course Hannah has everything thought through. Just relax_. _A little mingling never killed anyone._

…

Saying that The Garden was a breathtaking place would be an understatement. Brady's eye's went wide at the beauty of it all. The stairs had taken them to the left corner of the roof. To their right, against the side of the roof that overlooked the street was the bar area with a couple tables out in front. Turning counterclockwise from the bar, Brady faced Central Park. There was a stage set up here where a band was playing, and scattered all around the rooftop were potted plants and strings of lights. All of this combined with the stunning 360 degree view of New York made this bar, Brady decided, the most magical of all bars in the land.

Hannah and Brady were some of the last ones to arrive. The place was already buzzing with cast members who had traded their costumes for formal wear. James came over to greet them and led them over to the bar where they all ordered drinks. While waiting, the man who Brady knew played Lafayette and Jefferson walked up to them. He was tall and handsome, wearing a navy blue suit with a black tie, and his curly hair was down but smoothed back.

When he reached them, he slung his arm around Brady as if they were old friends. "Well well well," he began, his voice distinct, his smile wide, "is this _the_ friend of Hannah's that I've heard so much about?"

"Yep, you've got her," said Hannah. "In all her glory."

"Well, she certainly is as beautiful as you described her." Brady couldn't tell if he was kidding or serious by the way he looked at her with an eyebrow raised and a half smile, his arm still resting on the back of her neck in a casual stance. But his natural charm and charisma mixed with his ever-present sarcasm allowed him to get away with saying anything and it still sounding pleasant. Daveed removed his arm so he could turn more towards Brady and continued. "But the real question is will she live up to the hundreds of other expectations Hannah has built. For starters, rumor is you've got a voice."

"She does!" exclaimed Hannah, turning to glare at Brady. "She's just too modest to admit it."

It was true, Brady could sing. Whether she was good or not, she'd never know. The only people she'd ever sang openly for were Hannah and her dad, and with one of the two unable to vouch for it, Hannah was the only one who publicly idolized her friend's singing. Brady wasn't sure she was the most reliable source, because it's basically law that one's best friend is one's top supporter in all aspects of one's life.

Brady was about to defend herself when a familiar voice came from behind her. Sneaking up seemed to be Lin's favorite thing to do that day. "Brady can sing? Who'd of thought…" he said as he stepped forward and placed himself in between Brady and Daveed, with a glint of teasing in his eye. It was then that her, Hannah, and James's drinks arrived. They all took their glasses from the waiter.

With a drink in hand, Brady felt more confident, having the ability to sip her drink as something to do if ever the conversation were to lull. She took a sip and took a closer look at Lin. She choked a little as she took him in. His hair was half down, half up like before, with a couple pieces coming loose from his bun. His suit was a light grey, with a white shirt and a dark blue tie. The nighttime atmosphere made his eyes even darker than they had been earlier. Brady couldn't help but cough after accidentally inhaling her drink, and sputtered out a response. "I can sing," she croaked. "I just...don't much."

Lin gently patted her on the back as her fit of coughs drew to a close. _Great_ , she thought, _Now that I've completely embarrassed myself in all aspects of my life in front of Lin, maybe I can move onto more important things, like moving to Nebraska and living out the remainder of my days as a recluse._

Brady excused herself to get some water from the bar, but regretted it immediately when Lin's hand was forced to leave her back as she walked away. When she reached the bar, she thought she felt someone's eyes on her, but decided it was nothing. _I'm just slowly spiraling into insanity from my overwhelming amounts of awkwardness. Nothing new._

…

Brady finished her water at the bar and traded it for a fresh drink. She turned to find Hannah, who was on the other side of the roof talking to Rénee, Mia, and other female cast members. Well aware of the fact that if she joined them there would be a very high probability of incessant teasing, she decided to talk to Oak and Daveed instead, standing near the roof's edge to her right. Oak saw her approaching and opened his arms wide for a hug. "New girl!" he said as Brady laughed and hugged him back. "Glad you could make it."

"And I'm glad you didn't pass out after all that coughing" Daveed inserted.

Brady lightly elbowed him in the side. "Well if we're all being glad of something, then I'm glad you're also a fan of navy blue." She gestured from her dress to his suit.

"Copying my style?" Daveed striked a pose only to receive a shove from Oak.

"Ah yes, you've caught me red handed. Take me away, fashion police." Brady put her hands up in surrender. This evoked playful shoves from both the guys.

They proceeded to talk for a bit, Brady and Daveed making quips at one another leaving Oak to the position of mediator. It was towards the end of their conversation that Daveed asked for Brady's phone. She took it out and he had her unlock it. Becoming increasingly skeptical, she did as he requested and handed it to him. He then handed the phone to Oak, saying "Photoshoot!" and proceeded to scoop Brady into his arms, causing her to almost spill her drink. Her surprise dissolved into amusement, and she smiled at her phone's camera. Oak squatted in the natural position of a professional photographer and took a couple shots.

The 'photoshoot' ended shortly thereafter and Brady was back on the ground (it seemed to her like she was leaving the ground a lot within the last twenty-four hours). Daveed took the phone back from Oak, shielded it's screen from Brady's view, and typed something. Her worried look made Daveed smirk as he handed her the phone back. She looked at the screen to see that Daveed had posted one of the photos on Twitter. It was actually a nice photo, with them both smiling and the night sky in the background. He'd captioned it with "love this guy" and tagged some people in it. Brady assumed he'd tagged Oak and himself in it, but a closer look revealed he'd not only tagged them two, but also Hannah and Lin. Brady looked back up from her phone to Daveed. "That'll make him jealous," he said with a wink.

"But I don't want to…" Brady stuttered. Daveed had already turned to walk away.

"Yes you do." He called over his shoulder as he strolled onwards like nothing happened.

It was then that Brady realized she'd been fooled. Daveed had led her to believe he wasn't in on this whole 'Lin and Brady' thing. He'd even flirted with her a little. But in reality he was a spy from Hannah's side, the dark side.

…

An hour and a half later Brady found herself dancing to the band along with every other cast and crew member in Hamilton. After Daveed had walked away, she'd considered deleting the tweet he'd made, or at least untagging Lin. But she didn't. And she wasn't sure why. She left it up and forgot about it as she rejoined Hannah.

Hannah finished introducing her to all of her colleagues. With half of them drunk, and Brady herself slightly buzzed, the atmosphere was extra relaxed. And once the band picked up, everyone gathered in the area in front of the stage and danced under the pulsing lights and the clear night sky. By this point, almost all the guys had abandoned their suit jackets and ties leaving their buttoned shirts, some still tucked in but some coming loose, mostly depending on home many drinks they'd had. Some of the girls had removed their heels, but Brady kept hers on.

Later, Brady unexpectedly found herself dancing in a triangle with Philippa and Leslie. Leslie twirled Brady and then Philippa, all of them amused by the simple dance move. Brady laughed as she was twirled more and more, watching the stars above her become lines of white. Unfortunately for her, slight drunkenness and dizziness don't make for a perfect combination. Brady lost her balance and stumbled backwards, but instead of hitting the ground like she'd expected, a hand pushed against her back and steadied her back on her feet. The hand moved to her shoulder and turned her around to face its owner. "You ok?" Lin laughed.

"Thanks to you, yes." Brady smiled, smoothing her hair down, hoping she didn't look as disheveled as she felt.

"I'm afraid if I let go you'll fall down again." Lin said with his hand still on her shoulder. He had removed his suit jacket and tie, leaving him in a white collared button-up, with a couple of the top buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. His hair was still in the half bun with more pieces coming loose. He looked like the most handsome man she'd ever seen. The sight of him made her knees feel weak. _Damn it,_ she cursed herself. _I like him. I like him a lot. You idiot._ "I guess," he continued, "the only solution is for us to dance."

"Well, if you say it's the _only_ solution, then I have no choice, do I?" Brady smiled and hoped he heard the sarcasm in her voice. She was sure he did when he placed his left hand on her lower back and took her left hand in his right one. Brady's heart stuttered as she allowed her fingers to intertwine with his and cautiously put her right hand on his shoulder. She held in a gasp as he took a step closer to her, their proximity practically intoxicating.

Maybe due to Lin and Brady's shift in dance style, the band started to play a slow song, and other pairs began to dance around Brady and Lin. As they swayed in time to the music, Brady found herself moving closer to Lin inch by inch, so that their bodies were almost touching, getting lost in his scent, his touch, his everything.

She wasn't aware of how much time had passed when the music stopped and someone tapped on a microphone, saying, "Testing, testing." To her dismay, Lin released her hand and dropped his own from her back. They both turned to the man on stage, who cleared his throat before speaking. "At this point we are going to begin the karaoke part of the evening. Anyone who would like to participate can make their way to the stage. The song you will sing will be randomly selected for you, and the lyrics will be displayed on the TV located on the left and right sides of the stage."

Lin turned to Brady. "Care to join me?" he asked with a nod towards the stage. "You've already sang on a stage once today, I'm sure a second time wouldn't hurt."

Brady shook her head with a smile, "I would, but I have to rest my voice for tomorrow's reprise of Wicked. But you go!" Brady pushed him towards the stage.

"If you say so," he said as he pulled her in for a parting hug. Leave it to Lin to turn a momentary goodbye into a more dramatic event. "Don't miss me too much," he said near her ear, his breath passing over her neck. Brady shivered as he made his way through the crowd. She knew he had been joking, but still.

Moments after he left, Hannah joined Brady at her side. Brady prayed that Hannah was too drunk to have payed any attention to her and Lin dancing, but goodness knows that the Gods had been against Brady that whole day so far, so why stop then? "Any new updates I need to be made aware of?" Hannah inquired.

"I like him. A lot." Brady said this without any hesitation. It was pointless to hide these sort of things from Hannah. Better to put it out in the open than keep denying it. Saying it out loud made Brady a little scared. Of what, she wasn't aware. Hannah squealed and grabbed Brady's arm.

It was then that music began to play. Brady turned to the stage, where Lin stood, microphone in hand. A few people cheered. A voice that sounded like it belonged to Daveed shouted, "Knock 'em dead, Linny!" A murmur of laughter passed through the cast.

Lin brought the microphone to his lips, and began to sing.

'I can show you the world, shining shimmering splendid.'

"It's a duet." Brady thought aloud.

'Tell me, princess, now when did you last let your heart decide.'

"Brady," a voice called from across the roof. Brady saw Rénee near the bar, waving her arm in the air. "Go join him!"

'I can open your eyes, take you wonder by wonder.'

"Yeah Brady, go!" This time Oak was yelling at her from another direction.

'Over, sideways, and under on a magic carpet ride.'

"Brady, Brady, Brady." She turned to see Daveed standing behind her all the sudden, chanting her name with an evil smirk plastered to his face. That man really was pushing his luck.

"Guys, I can't…" Brady begged, too quiet for anyone to hear.

'A whole new world. A new fantastic point of view.'

At this point, more people joined in, chanting her name. She looked over at Hannah, unsure of what to do.

"You don't have to go onstage," Hannah said over the noise, "but as you're best friend, I'm going to encourage you to do so, because your voice is the shit. So for your own good, I'm joining the chanting now." And to Brady's horror she did.

'No one to tell us no.'

Brady wanted the chanting to stop. She didn't want to draw attention away from Lin's performance. Or ruin the fun. So without overthinking it she made her way towards the stage.

'Or where to go.'

Brady mounted the stage as the chanting transformed to cheers. Lin looked surprised and then happy as she walked past him to the second microphone stand. She took the microphone in hand and found the screen with the scrolling lyrics.

'Or say we're only dreaming.'

Brady didn't really need the lyrics, she knew practically every Disney song by heart. She just needed something to look at instead of the crowd of people staring at her. She took a deep breath and tried her hardest to imagine she was alone in her bedroom, singing into a water bottle.

" _A whole new world, a dazzling place I never knew, but when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear, that now I'm in a whole new world with you_." Brady felt more at ease once she began singing. It also didn't hurt that she still had alcohol buzzing inside her. She found the courage to look away from the screen on her right to Lin on her left. Their eyes locked as he sang his part, 'Now I'm in a whole new world with you.' To Brady, his voice sounded like it was hand-crafted by angels. And no, it wasn't the drinks talking.

As Brady sang her next part, she forgot her worries about how her voice sounded. She was enjoying herself, and liked the way her voice weaved with Lin's.

" _Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling through an endless diamond sky. A whole new world."_

'Don't you dare close your eyes.'

" _A hundred thousand things to see."_

'Hold your breath, it gets better.'

Brady really felt like she was on a magic carpet ride with Lin, the open night sky glistening above them, their intertwining voices making her feel lighter than air. It was like a dream. She felt drunk off of him, like no matter how many drinks she had tonight or any other night, she'd never get that same feeling as she did when he looked at her. As they sang back and forth, Lin moved closer to her, and soon she did the same.

'A whole new world.'

" _A whole new world."_

'That's where we'll be'

" _That's where we'll be."_

Lin was so close to Brady, she thought he might kiss her. She wanted him to, if she were to be honest. Instead, he took her left hand in his right one and held it there, their eyes still locked on one-another's.

'A thrilling chase.'

" _A wondrous place."_

"For you and me."

They sang the last four words together, and when they were done the audience roared, but Brady couldn't hear them. She was looking at Lin, searching for a sign that he felt the same way as she did.

Lin tore his eyes away from hers to lead them back down the stairs and off to the side of the stage in order to make room for the next performers. The crowd then gave their attention to Anthony, Oak, and Daveed, who went on stage, drinks in hand, and began to sing 'Eye of the Tiger'.

Lin and Brady's hands were still linked. "Thanks for saving me," Lin said softly. He didn't smile or laugh, he didn't frown. Neither did Brady. Yet both their faces were full of emotion. His brown eyes searched Brady's blue ones.

The moment ended abruptly when Lin's cellphone rang. He let go of her hand and reached into his pocket to grab it. "Unknown number," Lin said quietly, still in a dazed state. When he unlocked his phone, he saw a notification from Brady. Brady watched him click on it. She felt like everything was happening in slow motion. He looked at the photo of her and Daveed for a moment before lifting his eyes to hers. "Nice photo," he stated plainly, with a tint of bitterness in his tone. His eyes looked sad as he turned and walked away. Brady stood there, unable to move, unable to speak. But in her heart she knew that she'd just fucked up. Big time.

* * *

 **I'm not sure if this is the 'proper' way to leave an author's note, but I'm doing it anyway.**

 **I guess I'll start off by saying thanks for reading. Like, seriously. Thank you so much. I've never written a fanfic before, and I've really enjoyed it so far. I appreciate all the feedback/follows/favorites and whatnot. So thanks again.**

 **Secondly, I would like to iterate that Lin is married to his beautiful, intelligent wife Vanessa and they have an adorable son named Sebastian and I want that to never change. I want them to grow old together and have lil grandchildren that run around their farmhouse. This story is merely a work of fiction. I felt the urge to write it and so I did. Shoot me.**

 **I would also like to apologize for the length of this chapter. Oh my word it's so long. I didn't mean for that to happen but it did and that's just how life goes.**

 **Lastly, I have no idea how often I will be able to update. As of now I have no schedule in place. I write when I can. Just know that I want to update as often as possible, and so I'll try my best.**

 **Thank you all**


	4. Chapter 4

"I scared him off like I do to every guy I come within five feet of! I'm sure he realized how insane I am and ran off to change his identity and move to Florida! Or I damaged his ear drums from my singing. Was my singing horrendous? Don't answer that. Either way, I don't blame him. You know what, no. This isn't my fault, this is _Daveed's_ fault. I don't know why, I don't know how, but Daveed has something to do with all of this. Oh, I'm gonna end him. He is my enemy, and this is _war_!" Brady, out of breath and slightly shaky, slunk back down onto the couch next to Hannah. Hannah patted her back, keeping her distance from Brady incase she had another outburst.

After the party was over they had went back to the apartment, and with both of them very much awake from all the excitement, they decided that sleep was for the weak and stayed up talking. Talking as in Brady ranted for thirty minutes and Hannah nodded her head at the appropriate times. Both of them had removed their makeup, put on face-masks, adorned oversized t-shirts and plaid pajama pants, and put their hair in buns before Brady told Hannah every little detail from that day, especially of what transpired after her and Lin's duet.

Hannah assumed Brady had finished telling her everything. She processed all the information before choosing her next words carefully. "You...need some tea." And with her wise words having been spoken, she walked over to the kitchen and took out a tea bag.

"That's all you've got for me?" Brady said hysterically, kneeling backwards on the couch to face her. "You, who claims to always know what's best for me at all times, think I need some tea? Unless this is like Harry Potter and the tea leaves are going to tell me my future, you need to think up a better solution."

"Hey, crazy-Brady? May I speak to calm-Brady for a sec? Yes? Thank you. You see, calm-Brady, the tea is a short term solution. They say tea makes everything better."

"Who's they?"

"The tea people. And while you drink your tea, we can come up with a game plan."

The tea finished brewing and Hannah carried it over in a mug that said 'World's Best Grandpa'. Brady wrapped her hands around the mug and took a sip. "Ok," she sighed, "Let's do this."

"Alright." Hannah clapped her hands together. "First thing's first, we need to deal with this whole twitter thing." Hannah put her phone and Brady's in her lap. She talked while she typed, switching every now and then between phones. "You may not be convinced that the photo of you and Daveed made Lin jealous, but as you said, I know all, and me says that it did. And me being the perfect friend that I am, I happened to take a lot of pictures last night. Including ones of you and Lin singing. So, we're gonna post four more photos on your feed, but this time with Lin in there. That'll make the delicate flower feel included in your life. Next, we're not going to delete the photo of you and Daveed, because the damage has already been done. Instead, we'll have you quote the tweet and hope that Lin sees it."

When Hannah finished, she gave Brady her phone to approve. One tweet said "It was no Winter's Ball, but I still had a great time". Underneath were four pictures, one of people dancing, one that showed the view from the roof overlooking Central Park, one of Brady dancing with Philippa, and finally one of Lin and Brady facing each other, microphones in hand. Brady couldn't help but look at this photo longer than she did the others. Underneath that tweet, the picture of her and Daveed had been quote tweeted, saying "When Daveed is so obsessed with himself that he takes your phone and tweets about himself".

"That'll put a bandaid on things," Hannah said as she handed Brady her tea, wanting her to drink more. "You really like Lin, don't you? I've never seen you smitten so quickly."

"I don't know," Brady said, looking down at her mug. She did know, she just felt like everything was happening too quickly. Lin was basically a stranger, a famous stranger. She felt happier around Lin, but didn't know what to make of it. "I want to stay friends with him. Not just because he's famous and could get me into some pretty cool parties." Brady winked, which Hannah chose to ignore. "But because...I'm not sure why."

Once Brady finished her tea they both washed off their face masks and went to bed. Sleep evaded Brady as she laid there, her mind replaying over and over the moment her and Lin's faces were so close, getting lost in his eyes.

…

"Brady!...Get up!" Brady's head rose from the pillow as she wiped drool from her face. The light that shone from behind the curtains made her groan. She sat up and wiped an eye with her wrist when another muffled shout came from outside her room. "Brady I'm serious!" As her vision became less blurry, Brady picked up her phone from the bedside table and unplugged it from her charger. Her heart picked up its pace when she read the notification on her lock screen. _Lin-Manuel Miranda is now following you on Twitter._ Brady set her phone back down. _He must have seen my tweets. He must have._ But before she could think any more about it, Brady heard Hannah call her name again and became a bit worried. Hannah didn't usually wake her up. And especially not this early. She got out of bed and opened the door to the living room, not knowing what to expect.

"There you are! I have rehearsals all day today, and you're coming with me." Hannah was rushing around the kitchen, brewing coffee while grabbing a banana. She was already dressed in jeans and a shirt, looking like she were about to fly out the door or the window, whichever way was fastest for her.

"Why is that?" Brady asked, still not totally awake.

"I can't tell you, because then you'll say no."

"Then no."

"Come on, trust me." Brady wasn't about to get involved in another of Hannah's crazy schemes without any information.

"I can't trust you when you're running around the kitchen like the coffee will implode if you don't open the fridge at least nine times." Hannah closed the fridge for the fifth time since Brady had started counting to pour coffee into two portable cups. Brady assumed one was intended for her.

"The faster I get ready, the faster I can help you get ready."

"I refuse to go unless I get a hint." Brady said, walking into the kitchen and taking a sip of her coffee.

"No." Hannah said. She then took Brady's coffee away mid-sip, set it back on the kitchen island and steered Brady back towards her room.

"Well, I tried." It was useless to resist objective-driven Hannah, so Brady gave up. She was actually getting excited to see Lin again. "Oh and by the way, Lin followed me on Twitter."

"Really? This is perfect! Just as I planned. He would have seen your tweets by now and realized Daveed is just a trouble maker. Honestly I'm surprised he didn't know that already."

"Yeah. Maybe the alcohol got to him or something…" Brady hoped and prayed that Lin had gotten over whatever had happened at the party. Brady still wasn't convinced he had been jealous of her and Daveed. It just didn't make sense to her. _What was going through his head last night?_

…

Walking back into the theatre for the second time wasn't nearly as intimidating as the first. The only thing that really scared Brady was Hannah and her secret agenda. "I really hate when you do this," Brady said as she gave Hannah the side glare.

It was only ten in the morning and cast members were already walking around backstage. Brady and Hannah stopped to say hi to a few, including Chris and Pippa, and was surprised at how cheery everyone was despite having gone drinking the night before.

Brady felt like shit, but appeared better than she felt thanks to Hannah. Hannah had picked out her outfit, light gray jeans with a baby-blue v-necked shirt that matched her eyes and a pair of sandals. Hannah had let her borrow one of her long necklaces too, which Brady batted like a cat. Hannah had then done Brady's hair in a side braid and made her face look not like a dead person's with some makeup. All this she had done in under ten minutes, something Brady still couldn't comprehend.

As Hannah brought Brady to a part of the theater she'd never been to (Brady was convinced the theater was like a clown car, but instead of having a lot of clowns it had rooms upon rooms), Hannah finally caved to Brady's incessant questioning. "Last night," Hannah began, stopping outside a closed door, "before I fell asleep, I got like a trillion texts, all from the cast and crew. We're all in a humongous group message that can sometimes be a big pain. Anyways, the conversation that they were having was about you, how you have a great voice and stage presence and whatnot. Then, someone brought up the fact that Pippa still doesn't have an understudy, and everyone went haywire. Everyone, including myself, thinks that you would be perfect for the part. Then I got a separate text from Lin, Tommy, and Alex. Tommy said he wanted to meet with you today to talk about it. So here we are."

Brady's heart rate picked up. She didn't want to talk to anyone about anything to do with her singing. She didn't want to be scrutinized by geniuses. But she didn't have time to argue or run far, far away, because Hannah was a speed-ninja with no mercy or pity, especially when it came to what she thought was making Brady a better person. Quick as a bullet Hannah pushed Brady through the door and shut it behind her.

…

Inside, there were two tables. One was rectangular shaped with four chairs all on one side of it, facing a wall made out of mirrors. The other was circular, with six or so chairs at it. Sitting at this table, with papers spread across it and music playing from a speaker, was as expected Lin, Tommy, and Alex. They all turned when the door opened and Brady stumbled in.

"There she is," said Tommy, standing up to shake her hand and pull out a chair for her next to him. "We hoped you'd get the memo."

Brady thanked him and sat down. She was nervous, despite being informed of what this was all about. Her brain knew what to expect but her heart was still weary. To her left was Alex, and across the table was Lin. She was aware that he was looking at her, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him. Luckily she didn't have to, because Alex introduced himself to her, and then directly after Tommy began to speak again.

"You probably know why we've asked you here, but we'll go ahead and tell you again just to set things straight. After hearing you sing last night, everyone, including ourselves and the cast, believe you have what it takes to be an understudy for the role of Eliza. Of course, you'd still have to audition with a few other girls we have lined up, and we'd have to look over your resume, if you have one, but that's about it. Also, just to clear away any misconceptions, understudies rarely perform. Only if Philippa was on her deathbed would we call you in. You'd still have to be in the theatre during every performance just incase something were to happen, and attend all rehearsals. Any questions or thoughts so far?"

Brady sat still for a moment, looking from Tommy to the papers on the table. Did they really feel like she had what it took to perform? Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined someone, not to mention a Broadway hit, would want her to be on their cast. It was only all she had ever wanted since as long as she could remember. No, she didn't think she had what it took. That's what happens when in possession of a shaky confidence. But if an overwhelming amount of people thought she could do it, then that's all that mattered. She decided then and there to stop overthinking and start doing.

Brady looked up from the table and met Tommy's eyes. "No questions at all. I'm just really excited for this opportunity. Like, really excited."

Tommy smiled. "So are we. We'll just get set up at the table over there and then you can audition."

"Audition? Now?" Brady had not been expecting a lot of the things that had happened to her in the past two days, but this came out of nowhere.

"Yeah, if that works for you."

Knowing that it'd only be more pressure to hold it off until another day, she nodded her head. "Of course, that works. Yeah. I'm so ready."

Tommy stood up again. "Awesome. Alex, could you help me wheel in the piano?"

"Sure," Alex replied. The two left the room. The door shut.

For the first time since she entered the room Brady looked at Lin. He had on a white t-shirt and a beanie, and was looking down at his phone.

Brady spoke first before she lost the courage to. "I couldn't find you, last night, to say goodbye." Lin gave no acknowledgement of hearing her speak as he continued to type on his phone. Brady tried to read his face to discern if they were still friends or not, but his expression gave no hints. His eyes weren't harsh, like she'd expected them to be, but his infectious smile was absent.

After a few moments Lin put his phone down and raised his head to hers. "Sorry, that was my dad. He's having issues with his phone. You know how it is, parents acting like new tech is worse than, I don't know, a meteor strike, but then they still want you to teach them how to use it."

"I don't know how it is. Both my parents are dead." Brady took a mental step back. She didn't intend to speak as sharply as she had. She didn't know why she had said that in the first place. It just came out. She mentally hit herself for being a horrible conversationalist.

Lin's eyes went wide and his expression changed from blank to guilty. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have assumed… I remember Hannah told me why she had to go visit you… I'm… I'm just an idiot. You have permission to hit me or throw something at me for being such an ass. Sometimes I just say things... I don't think...Sorry."

"It's ok, I'm...slowly getting used to it. My mom died when I was little. There was a car wreck. And you know about my dad."

"That's horrible. I'm horrible."

"No, you're not," Brady said, giving a smile of assurance. They looked at eachother, and Brady saw Lin getting ready to say something when Alex and Tommy wheeled a piano into the room.

Tommy clapped his hands together. "Alright, let's get started."

…

Brady had no idea how the audition had gone. Everything blurred in her memory, leaving her winded and dizzy.

The whole ordeal had lasted about an hour and a half. They had her singing, dancing, and acting, sometimes all three at once like a performer would. She sang all of Eliza's parts what felt like ten times, sometimes with Lin accompanying her, sometimes sitting in a chair, sometimes while spinning, oddly enough. The spinning was at Lin's request, and Brady was convinced he was just messing with her. The sheet music gave her some trouble, she'd only ever had to read music when she'd done chorus, and that had been ages ago. Then they'd have her repeat a couple dance moves that Lin would demonstrate. She had only ever taken a couple dance classes as spur-of-the-moment events, so she felt mediocre in that area at best. And then for the acting part she was given some lines from Romeo & Juliet to interpret as she wished. That was her least favorite part. She had bad memories associated with that play and ninth grade, so she rushed through it a little bit.

All in all, Brady was amazed that she didn't freak out or anything. Usually she couldn't stand to be the center of attention, but under their gaze, and especially under Lin's, she didn't feel like she was being scrutinized, but encouraged. It's how the whole cast made her feel. And it made her want to get the part that much more, if only to be able to be surrounded by this much positivity and support every day.

She was out of breath by the end, thinking she had to be done when Alex and Tommy requested, as her final task, to perform the first half of 'That Would Be Enough' with Lin. She did, of course, putting her heart and soul into the song despite her desperate need for a break. She didn't yet have the stamina of a Broadway performer, and wondered how in the world they did all this and more every night.

While she sang to Lin, him sitting in a chair and her standing, she completely forgot reality. She felt like she was Eliza, and he was Hamilton. She wasn't looking lovingly into the eyes of a man she had just met, she was looking into the eyes of her husband who was about to leave for war. She wasn't sure how the song was supposed to be performed, but she put her all into it, until Alex raised a hand, saying, "That'll do."

When she stopped, trying to hide her gasps for breath, Tommy thanked her and told her they'd get back to her when the other girls gave their auditions, which shouldn't take too long. "You really did amazing Brady," Alex said, straightening up the sheet music on the piano. "A little rehearsing and you'll be ready." Brady felt like his words were just a formality, but thanked him all the same.

Before she could leave the room so the directors could compare notes, Lin wrapped his fingers around her arm, stopping her on the way to the door. Brady turned to face him even though she didn't want to, with sweat covering what felt like every inch of her body, her face most likely red and her hair coming out of the braid. Lin dropped his hand. "You were brilliant. You had me, I mean us all, mesmerized. I'm sure you'll get the part."

Brady smiled and wiped the sweat on her forehead (in the most attractive of ways of course). "Well, you do have that power, you know."

"Heh, I do, don't I? Maybe I could use this newfound power to get some favors out of you… I'd like a double espresso, stat!" There it was. That infectious smile of his. It made Brady tingly all over.

"You're evil. Pure evil."

Lin laughed. "Never was there a sweeter thing said about me."

She jokingly rolled her eyes at him and was about to say something sarcastic when Tommy said from his spot at the round table, "Lin, let the poor woman go rest." Lin turned from Tommy back to Brady.

"Yeah Lin," Brady said as she opened the door to leave. "Let the poor woman rest."

"Double espresso!" Lin exclaimed before Brady closed the door behind her. She let out a laugh and walked down the hall, happier than she'd been in a long time.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Wowowow ok, this took longer than expected to write. Sorry bout that. And I wanted to make it longer, but that would've taken another day and I was like "You know what, the Internet deserves this TONIGHT."**

 **Also I'd like to again make it abundantly clear that Lin is happily married to his super smart wife Vanessa, and they are more than perfect together. This story is just some mumbo-jumbo I made up for your fluffy fiction needs.**

 **I wanna thank all the wonderful lil squirrels that favorited/followed this story. It makes me feel like a proud mama.**

 **I'm hoping to upload the next chapter more quickerly. YAY GRAMMAR.**


	5. Chapter 5

Days past. Brady kept to the apartment, occasionally going for a walk at a park or browsing through the nearest book stores. She always kept her phone on extra super loud in hopes that Lin or Tommy or Alex would call with news about the understudy part. But so far they hadn't. It'd been four days, but for Brady it felt like fifty-seven plus. Everytime Hannah came home from the theater Brady would ask if she heard anything to which Hannah would say, "Patience, young padawan." To Brady it was clear that Hannah thought of herself as hilarious.

Finally word came home with Hannah. Brady was in her plaid pajama pants and old t-shirt eating peanut butter with a spoon at the kitchen counter when Hannah came back from the theater. Brady wanted to ask for the seventieth time if there was any info on her audition, but was hindered by her peanut-butter-filled mouth. Hannah saw her friend struggling and decided not to maker her wait any longer. "I come bearing juicy news," Hannah said as she approached the counter, setting her bag down on one of the stools. Brady's eyes went wide and she ceased her futile attempts at swallowing her mouthful. "I'm pregnant!"

Brady squinted her eyes, unfazed. She tried to say 'You're a piece of garbage' but because of her full mouth it came out as "Yah uhpeez o cabage."

Hannah rubbed her stomach, "Yes, it's a girl, thanks for asking."

"Hunnuh!" Brady yelled, desperate to know the news that Hannah was obviously hiding.

"Alright, alright. We can talk about my child later." Hannah handed Brady a bottle of water to help wash down the peanut butter still caked to her mouth. Brady took a chug.

"Lin told me they want to meet with you tomorrow."

Brady put down the water. Her mind started racing. "Does that mean…"

"I think so," Hannah said, now unable to hide her grin.

They both squealed at the same time and ran at each other. Hannah grabbed Brady's hands and jumped up and down. They both laughed and spun while Brady's thoughts raced around. _I'm going to be an understudy in a musical. A real Broadway musical._ She thought of her dad, and how proud he would be of her. But she didn't want to get her hopes up just yet. "Hold on, Hannah. We don't _know_ that I got the part."

Hannah eyed Brady. "Oh, c'mon. I've been surrounded by trained performers since college and not a single one can do what you do. You have this naturalness about you that I'm sure Lin and the others saw. I'm good at dancing. That's where I'm most comfortable. That's why I auditioned for the Ensemble. But you, Brady. You were born to perform."

Brady smiled. She didn't know what she had done to deserve Hannah, but she sure as hell was more than grateful about where they had ended up. And now she was about to find out if she and her best friend were going to be in the same show. She felt light and airy.

"Let's go to bed," said Hannah, seeing the dreamy, far-off look in Brady's eyes at what lay in store. "Big day tomorrow."

…

Brady was ready in record time the next day. She woke up only a little after Hannah did (big accomplishment), threw on a tan skirt with buttons down the front, sneakers, and a white t-shirt. Hannah didn't even have to tell Brady it was time to go because Brady was already halfway out the door.

They got to the theater quickly, and once they reached the hallway with the stars on the doors Brady was tackled from behind. It wasn't a football tackle, but more like an aggressive hug administered by none other than Renee. "This is so great!" Renee muffled into Brady's back. Brady started to laugh until she saw Daveed further down the hallway. The sight of him frightened her. Not because she was scared of him, just because he was barrelling at her full speed. "Best friend!" he shouted as she prepared herself for impact. He slammed full force into Brady in her second violent hug of the day. Luckily she had Renee to balance her from the other side. "I can tell you're trying to contain your excitement that we're gonna get to spend everyday together." Daveed said as he and Renee continued to make a sandwich out of her.

"I'm...bursting with...joy." Brady spoke between breaths, slightly suffocated. She wanted to stay mad at Daveed for the whole tweet debacle, but she couldn't bring herself to. He was too much of a teddy bear.

Hannah eventually managed to drag them off of Brady. "I have to take her to Lin you guys."

"Ah yes," Daveed said with a smirk, crossing his arms. "Initiation time. Don't worry Brady, it only hurts a lot. Did I say a lot? Oops, I meant a very large amount. Are you scared of needles?"

Brady stuck her tongue out at Daveed as her best response, to which Daveed did the same.

"You two need help," Hannah said before pulling Brady away.

It was only a short walk to their destination. They stopped outside a room with two stars on it, Lin's and Chris's. She looked at Hannah, who gave her a nod before walking away. Brady took in a shaky breath and knocked on the door.

…

Lin opened the door. His hair was down and some strands fell across his face as he leaned out the doorway. "Welcome to my hole in the wall," he said with a smile.

"You remind me vaguely of a troll," Brady said with a laugh, referring to the way he poked only his head out of the seemingly small room.

"One of these days someone needs to teach you how to compliment attractive men. Everyone knows we prefer the term 'hobbit' not 'troll'".

"I'm sorry, did you say attractive?" Brady said with amusement.

"Stop talking and enter the hobbit hole," Lin said with a laugh, opening the door for Brady to enter. She walked past him and into the room. There wasn't anything especially interesting about it, except for some notes and drawings hung up. There was a couch in this room just like Hannah's except a little nicer in quality, if a bit smaller. "You can sit on the couch if you want." Lin closed the door and put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Brady sat down and smoothed out her skirt. Lin took a seat on a chair across from the couch, where the vanities were. He swiveled in a circle before facing Brady again. He then interlocked his fingers and rested his elbows on his knees.

"You're audition the other day," he began, going from playful to business-like in a heartbeat "was phenomenal. When the other girls auditioned for the part I couldn't stop comparing their performances to yours. I didn't feel like you were Brady. You were Eliza. And that's something I've always looked for when casting a role. I don't care so much about if they can do a split while hitting a high C. I care about how the person will make the audience feel. That's why when Tommy, Alex and I got together after the auditions, I told them that you were my top choice."

Brady couldn't help but blush. She actually felt her life fitting into place for the first time. "Thank you so…" but before she could finish, Lin cut in.

"You didn't get the part." It was barely above a whisper. He looked down at his clasped hands.

"What?" Brady's vision became slightly blurred.

"A woman named Lea. She got the part."

Brady refused to let a single tear fall. "Lea." She felt like something was off, like this wasn't reality. She wondered if the room had always been as tilted as it was then.

"Tommy and Alex felt she had more experience. They said she has a more smoothed voice, more stage presence. So they gave the part to Lea."

At those words Brady's shock and sadness mutated into a bitterness. "What do you mean 'they'? Do you not have any say in the matter?" She spat it out like it was venom and he was her target.

"Of course I have say. They just...they outnumbered me."

"So you don't think this Lea has a smoother voice than me?"

"I mean, her voice is smooth, but that's not what I'm saying. I wanted to give you the part…"

Brady stood up from the couch, too emotional to stay seated. She stepped to her right, trying to distance herself from Lin. "Then why didn't you? It's your show! Or are you not as big of a hot-shot as people say?"

Lin stood from his chair too, taking a step away from the door and toward Brady. "Brady, I tried, I really did, they just felt that…"

"Stop trying to separate yourself from them, Lin! You obviously thought the same things they did about Lea. You gave her the part." Brady took another step away, not caring anymore about the tears brimming from her eyes, not caring about how much of a mess she must look like. Lin took another step in her direction. Brady realized before it was too late that she was cornering herself on the opposite wall from the door, her only escape from this nightmare.

"What do you want me to say, Brady? That she was better than you? Fine! She had a better voice, she was clearly trained to be a performer. But I chose you! I still choose you!"

"No you didn't Lin, because if you had, I would have gotten the part. God, you can't just get my hopes up like this only to drop them like this."

"I did all I could, Brady, how is that so hard for you to understand?" Lin had Brady completely cornered now, less than a foot away from her, the heat of the room making it all the more uncomfortable. Both their chests were heaving from their outbursts

Brady tried to scoff, but instead it came out as a sob. She covered her mouth with her hand, hoping to stop what she knew was coming. But that sob was like a gateway, and she started to cry without being able to control it. The tears that had been welling up made their way down her cheeks. She leaned her back against the wall and covered her face with her hands. She didn't want to look weak in front of him, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. All the sudden she wished her dad were there to comfort her, and the thought only made her cry even harder.

Brady felt Lin's arms wrap around her back and pull her into his chest, and she let him. She put her arms around him too and cried into his shirt, breathing him in, letting him comfort her. He stroked the back of her hair and rested his cheek on her head. "Shh," he whispered as he held her against him.

Brady slowly calmed down, her sobs fading into whimpers and her whimpers into sniffles. She still held onto Lin, taking in his comfort. Then a bit of hurt came back to her, the kind of hurt that lingers when someone lets you down. She pushed away from Lin and wiped her eyes.

"I have to leave," she said in a detached tone, and before he knew it she was closing the door behind her.

…

Brady found Hannah's room as quickly as she could while keeping her head down so as to avoid any questions. She walked in without knocking and was disappointed to see that Mia and James were there too, sitting on the couch. She didn't want to make a scene in front of them.

One look and they knew something was up with Brady. Hannah rushed over and held Brady by the shoulders, "What's wrong?" she asked as Mia and James stood up also.

Brady felt her chin shake and more tears form. To avoid further humiliation, she chose the shortest sentences possible. "I didn't get the part. I'm going home." Hannah looked surprised and distraught all at once, but Brady couldn't bear any more sympathy. She walked back out the doorway and down the hall towards the exit. "Brady come back," she heard Hannah say from behind, to which James said quieter, "Give her some space."

The tears were back for round two, and she was almost to the exit when she saw through her blurry vision Philippa run over to her. "Brady, are you ok?" But Brady, unable to speak, just shook her head and went through the door to the outside.

She walked home as quickly as possible, the tears never ceasing, and once back in the apartment collapsed on her bed. Only then did she allow herself to cry even harder than she had in front of Lin. She looked over at the picture of her, her dad, and her mom that was on the nightstand. Brady looked between one and two in the photo. Her mom was holding her on her hip, and her dad had his hand around her mom's back, clasping her arm. They had been camping. "I'm sorry," Brady said to the photo, to her parents.

Eventually she fell asleep. She woke up once to take a sip of water from the cup on her nightstand. She could see through the curtain that it was dark out now. She also realized there was a blanket on her that hadn't been there before. Then she rolled over to see Hannah lying on the other side of her bed, fast asleep. Brady closed her eyes.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sometimes I get a lil mad at authors who don't update like every day. Now I am one of those authors. Am I ashamed? Yes.**

 **I know that saying 'I had a lot of work' is a lame-o excuse for not updating, but forreal, I had A LOT of work and things going on. Every day I just wanted to write and every day I didn't have the time. So I'm sorry for that. Don't hate me plz.**

 **Thanks to all y'all for the follows/favorites/reads. I love you all more than Daveed loves himself in this story.**

 **Ok that's all I've got for ya. Lovely seeing you again!**


	6. Chapter 6

"I have you down for a croissant and a skinny latte, making your total come to nine dollars and sixty-seven cents." Brady swiped the woman's credit card and handed her the receipt. "Have a nice day." The next man in line walked up and gave his order, which Brady dutifully entered into the computer. She kept a smile on her face for the customers, but inside was counting down the seconds until her shift ended.

Not getting the understudy part had struck a chord deep within Brady. It made her more determined to get out of the apartment and take charge of her life. First she decided it was time to get a reasonable job. Hannah, being Brady's everlasting support system, asked around until Daveed said he knew of a coffee shop nearby that was looking to hire. Brady was skeptical at first because any idea of Daveed's usually had an ulterior motive. But she got the job, and was proud that for once he had done something right.

Another thing her Hamilton audition had made her realize is that she really loves performing. Well, she had always known it, but had simply been suppressing the feeling ever since she found out that she couldn't go to college in New York with Hannah. Now that she was here, however, and seemed to have a newfound confidence, she made the executive decision to go after her dream. To do that, she had signed up for theatre classes at a local college and singing lessons with a nearby teacher. She never felt more sure of herself when she walked into class for the first time.

It had been a week since Brady had started classes and her coffee-shop job, and a week and a half since she had been denied the understudy job. Despite that setback, she felt like she was finally moving her life in the direction she wanted it to go. Only one thing felt out of place.

"A hot green tea will bring your total to four dollars and ninety cents." The man handed Brady a ten and she made the appropriate change. She still wore her smile like a mask while her mind wandered.

In the past week she hadn't completely isolated herself from the cast. Philippa and Renee had come over to the apartment at Hannah's request to have a board game/ sleepover night. They all had a blast, and Brady was thankful that they avoided the topic of her audition. Instead they stuck to telling stories about the cast, including many embarrassing stories about Daveed, which Brady revelled in. Another day Daveed asked her to go out to lunch with him, Anthony, Oak, and James. They went to a local burger and milkshake shop and basically laughed for two hours straight. At one point Daveed went so far as to ask their waiter if he could have a burger with no meat, no bread, no cheese, and no tomato. Brady thought she would get abs from how hard she was laugh-crying. She was glad she still had most of the cast as friends. One person, however, she had managed to avoid.

The next customer walked up to her register. "How may I help you?" Brady asked.

"Brady?" Brady focused her eyes on the man in front of her. _Oh shit._ "You work here now?" The owner of the voice was none other than the one person in the world she had been trying to not see.

"Hey Lin," Brady said, trying to act as casual as possible. "No, I don't work here. I stole the uniform because I take a strange enjoyment in being a cashier." Lin gave a short laugh at this. "Is this your first time here?"

"Actually, this has been my go-to coffee place for the past couple years."

"Oh, what a coincidence." Truthfully Brady knew it was no coincidence. _I'm going to murder Daveed,_ she thought, _I'm going to use the bluntest object I can find, possibly a wooden spoon, and murder him with it._

"Yeah, small world." Lin looked behind him at the line. He was wearing sunglasses, probably to hide his identity, but it amused Brady more than anything. After all it was actually quiet cloudy outside, like it was going to rain. "Looks like I'm holding up the line. I'll get whatever you suggest." He smiled. To Brady, their conversation felt a little fake, like they were both acting like she hadn't yelled at him in his dressing room. Nevertheless, she continued on with the charade.

"Well, my favorite is the french roast with creamer and some cinnamon, but…" Lin stopped her there.

"I'll have a medium cup of that."

"Are you sure? Some people hate it."

"You don't."

"That's because I'm weird."

"No you're not." He said it so plainly without hesitation, Brady had difficulty keeping her composure. The fact that she couldn't see his eyes past his glasses made her feel even more uncomfortable.

"Ok, it'll be seven dollars and eighty-five cents." He pulled a ten out of his pocket, and when she took it from him her fingers touched his. It took all her willpower to not shudder visibly.

He spoke as she withdrew his change. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn't have." He said it so quietly, and when she looked up from the drawer to his face he had removed his sunglasses. He looked truly apologetic.

"It's my fault, I overreacted." Brady shrugged off his sincerity and handed him his change, her fingers brushing his palm. She may or may not have done it on purpose this time. Except when she went to pull her hand away, he held onto it.

"I want to make it up to you. Let me take you out to lunch. On me. I haven't seen you in forever." He let go of her hand now that he had her attention.

Brady's heart fluttered. She wanted more than anything to accept. She wanted to talk everything out with Lin. But she had vocal lessons right after work, and then directly after that, theatre class. She couldn't miss either, not even for a superstar. "I really would like to, except I have class right after work."

She saw that he was disappointed, but he quickly hid it with a reassuring smile. "I understand."

"French Roast," a worker called from behind the counter.

"I guess I should get that," Lin said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

"Yeah," Brady replied, unable to find any suitable words.

"Just, promise me you won't be a stranger, ok? I know things are probably weird right now, and that's my fault, but I really enjoy spending time with you. We all do."

"I enjoy you too. Spending time with you, I mean. And the rest of the cast."

Lin gave a sad sort of smile as he walked over to retrieve his coffee. Brady watched him walk out the door before taking the next customer's order.

…

Brady tried her hardest to concentrate during her classes. For the most part she was able to pay attention, but occasionally her mind would wander to Lin. One time she was thinking about when he held her hand, how wonderful it had felt, when a pen hit her in the stomach and she realized her vocal instructor had been trying to tell her something.

Both her lessons and her theatre classes dragged by like a dead weight chained to her ankle. When they were finally over she felt exhausted. She took a cab back to the apartment where she showered and changed into running shorts and a t-shirt.

It was dark outside by the time Brady was on the couch reading a book, and it wasn't long before Hannah walked through the front door.

"Hey," said Brady, taking a pause from reading to see Hannah's arms loaded with groceries.

"Hey," replied Hannah, pouring the bags onto the kitchen counter. "Quick warning, the entire cast is coming over in a couple minutes for movie night."

Brady's exhaustion evaporated in an instant. "Hannah!" Brady said with slight annoyance. Hannah knew things were still kind of weird between Brady and some of the cast, so why, Brady wondered, was Hannah trying to drive her insane.

"I know, I'm sorry. They all forced it upon me. They were afraid that if we had movie night somewhere else you wouldn't come, so they decided to bring movie night to you." Hannah tried to make it sound like it was the best of situations, but Brady wasn't having it.

"That's right, I wouldn't have gone, because I'm not apart of the cast or crew. It would just be odd."

"You're an honorary crew member because everyone loves you. Including Daveed, who told me that if you try to hide in your room he'd release a box of spiders in there to chase you out. His words exactly. I have no idea where he'd get a box of spiders from, but I wouldn't put it past him."

Brady sighed, not seeing a way out of the situation. Since there was no backing out she started making her way to her room in order to change out of her shorts that she believed were too short for company, but was stopped when she heard a knock on the door. "Can you get that?" Hannah asked, "I have to set up the food."

Brady grumbled a response. She tugged her shorts down to make them look longer and smoothed down her wet hair before opening the door.

"Brady!" came a tumult of exclamations from Leslie, Chris, Anthony, and Jasmine. Brady hugged each of them as they came in. She didn't have to fake her enthusiasm that they were here because she really was happy to see them.

So that she wouldn't have to open the door every time someone arrived, Brady propped it open with a tennis shoe. Very classy.

With every new person to arrive the kitchen/living room area shrunk. Brady squeezed her way around the room, making conversation with most everyone. She even met Lea, the girl who had gotten the understudy role, and was surprised to find that she was not a cold-hearted demon. Brady enjoyed talking to her and found out that they had a shared obsession of the same book series.

Brady even made time to punch Daveed on the arm for getting her a job at Lin's go-to coffee shop, to which Daveed shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said. His smirk at the end of this sentence revealed what Brady already knew, that he had known exactly what he was doing since he first recommended the job to her. Their conversation progressed into fighting over which movie to watch. All the while she waited for a certain someone to arrive.

Brady was starting to think he wouldn't show when the door opened wider and through the crowd she saw Lin walk in. Lin met her eyes and they both made their way towards each other.

"Sorry sir, this is a closed party. I'm going to have to escort you out." Brady crossed her arms and tried her best to look intimidating.

"Oh yeah, what're you gonna do about it midget?" Lin smirked and raised an eyebrow. Brady wasn't short, but Lin did have a couple inches on her. He was wearing a zip-up red jacket and gray jeans. To Brady he looked hyper-attractive as always.

"I guess since you're _the_ Lin-Manuel Miranda, I'll let it slide this once. But as punishment, I may or may not accidentally serve you decaf coffee."

"Oh no, my one weakness," Lin put his hand on his chest. "I feel...faint...the light...it's fading." He put his other hand on his forehead.

At this point Hannah walked up. "That is exactly something Brady would do. You guys are the same person." Brady and Lin looked at each other.

"Ah yes," remarked Brady, "the resemblance is uncanny."

Lin and Hannah laughed. "Alright, enough talking," Hannah said. "It's movie time."

Brady hadn't realized it, but a majority of people had already made their way to the living room. Some people sat on the floor and others on bean bags or fold out chairs. It seemed that Hannah had found every chair, pillow, and blanket she could find and placed them in the living room. Daveed waved Brady over to the couch where he and Anthony were sitting. He patted the empty spot next to him. "Look who's being friendly for once," Brady commented as she sat down next to him. The moment she sat down, however, Daveed stood up.

"Hey Lin, you can sit here, I'd rather sit on the floor." Brady should have seen it coming. It was a trap all along. Lin looked at the spot and then looked at Brady. He took a step closer but stopped short of the seat.

"I don't bite," Brady said in an attempt to make things as un-weird as possible.

"Yeah, but Anthony does," Lin replied as he sat in the middle seat.

The couch was a love seat meant for two people, so three people made things a little tight. Brady's right shoulder touched just below Lin's and her upper arm also rested on his left arm. Even her leg rested against his, with nowhere to go. She gave Daveed the most menacing look she could conjure, to which he gave a smile of pure evil and turned back towards the TV.

Everyone was in the living room now, sitting in chairs and beanbags or lying on pillows on the floor, or in Brady's case sitting insanely close to the guy she sorta liked. Hannah stood at the front of the room. "Since nobody else could make a decision," she said to the crowd who became quiet in response, "Anthony and I chose the Titanic." Most people gave a cheer of approval but a few made groaning sounds, including Daveed.

Lin leaned closer to Brady, something she didn't think was possible given how close they were already. "That's one of my mom's favorites," he whispered.

"I've never seen it," Brady whispered back. She had always wanted to, she just never went out of her way to watch it.

"What? That's a felony. You may as well have kidnapped the President."

Brady turned to face Lin, surprised at how close this made their faces. "Are you saying not watching the Titanic is the equivalent of kidnapping?"

"Yes," Lin smiled. "That is exactly what I'm saying. And my mom would agree wholeheartedly.

Hannah then turned off all the lights and started the movie.

…

Not far into the movie Brady shivered. Despite being in a room with at least thirty other people, she was still cold. It probably didn't help that she hadn't been able to change out of her shorts and t-shirt into something warmer. She saw goosebumps form on her arm and tried to rub them away.

"You cold?" Lin turned to Brady.

"A little," Brady responded. In reality she was very cold. She just didn't want to disturb anyone by going to her room and putting on warmer clothing.

"Here," Lin said. He leaned forward, and Brady thought he was leaving the couch, but instead simply unzipped his jacket, took it off, and held it open for her to put on.

Brady didn't move. She stared at the jacket as if she had never seen one before.

"You do know how to put a jacket on, don't you?" Lin whispered. She nodded her head and slid her arms into its sleeves. She zipped it close.

"Thank you." The jacket was soft and cozy, and it even smelled comforting. They both turned back to the movie, her with a grin she couldn't suppress.

The movie was interesting to Brady, but she couldn't keep her eyes open. From work to class to entertaining a bajillion guests, her exhaustion had finally caught up with her. The last thing she remembered was curling her legs onto the couch, wrapping her arms around her legs and just barely leaning against Lin, hoping he didn't notice.

…

Confusion is the first feeling that hit Brady when she woke up. She wasn't aware that she was in her living room until she recognized the TV, now with a black screen. She saw that there were no longer people sprawled on the floor and the chairs were empty; everyone must have left while she slept. _Add that to the list of embarrassing things I do._ She went to sit up when she realized that she hadn't been using the couch as a pillow. She had been using another person. That would explain the arm that was around her, resting on her ankle.

At first alarmed, Brady began to push off of the side of the random man she had been laying on but relaxed when she looked over and saw it was Lin. _Of course it's Lin, you idiot._ Brady took a closer look at his face to see that his eyes were closed. He had been asleep too. _But for how long?_ She remembered watching the movie next to him on the couch but had no recollection of them falling asleep together. _Well duh Brady,_ she thought. _Nobody remembers falling asleep._

Brady was still curled up beside Lin, leaning against him when he began to stir, most likely awoken by Brady's movement. His eyes opened and he looked even more confused than Brady had felt.

"Whoa," he mumbled as he rubbed his neck with the hand that wasn't wrapped around her, still resting on her leg. Brady imagined he was sore from sleeping while sitting up and simultaneously supporting her weight.

He turned his head to the left and caught Brady's eye. "Whoa," he said again.

"Yeah, I just woke up too," Brady admitted. Her voice was a little hoarse from how dry it was. "Did I fall asleep before you?"

"You did, about halfway through the movie. I guess I fell asleep too, at some point." Brady thoroughly enjoyed how his voice sounded after just waking up, all deep and gravelly. Lin realized where his arm was and removed it from around Brady. She sat up straight and yawned.

"I guess we're the two losers at the party who can't stay awake."

"The only loser here is you for never having watched Titanic all the way through." Lin stood and held out his hands to help Brady up. She took them and rose from the couch.

"It must not be a good movie if I can't stay awake for the whole thing," she joked.

"It's a wonderful movie," he said defensively, making their way to the door.

"Prove it." Brady then stumbled on a pillow on the floor, almost wiping out but not quite. Lin instinctively put his arm around her waist. She muttered a thanks and put her hand on his shoulder. She didn't really need his help, she just liked having him close to her. His touch made her knees feel like jelly.

"The only way to prove it is if I make you watch it again, this time the whole way through. I suppose you'll have to come over to my place to watch it, that way I can keep you from falling asleep. I'll keep two pots nearby to bang together incase you start to doze off."

"That sounds enticing." Brady laughed. They had reached the door by then. Lin opened it and Brady dropped her hand from his shoulder.

Lin grinned. "What can I say, I'm a natural charmer."

Brady knew this was the part where they said their goodbyes and parted ways but she didn't want to. She wanted to keep talking to him, to be in his company.

"I'll walk you downstairs. Only because you're so charming." She said the last word with air quotes.

"You really don't have to.."

Brady cut him off. "I want to."

She walked out the door he was still holding open before he could argue. He followed her into the hallway and let the door shut behind him.

"But you have to carry me." She said it as a joke, thinking he'd scoff at her. Instead he turned his back to her and leaned down.

"Hop on," he said casually.

She hesitated only for a moment before climbing onto his back. Her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck. He held onto her legs just below her knees and began to walk towards the elevators. Brady rested her head on his back. How he carried her with such ease amazed her.

"Would you say it's my charming nature, handsome looks, or superhuman strength that impress you the most?" He exaggerated each of the three adjectives to make it clear that he was kidding. Only to Brady she felt like all three descriptions had truth to them. Of course, she'd never say that to his face.

"Actually, nowadays the thing that we ladies look for in a man is how fast he can rap."

At this Lin burst into rapping 'Guns & Ships' to which Brady joined in. They had made it to the elevators, but instead of pressing the button, Lin kicked open the door to the stairs and walked in.

"I swear if you fall down these stairs while carrying me Lin…" Brady wrapped her arms and legs tighter around him for safety, terrified of the possibility of him wiping out.

"I wouldn't kill you before making you watch Titanic. That would be beneath me."

"That's a relief. So what you're saying is right after the movie is over you're going to kill me?"

"Precisely. That was my plan all along." Brady lightly flicked his shoulder at this. In response Lin pretended to lose his balance on the last step down.

"Don't mess with me Miranda!" Brady exclaimed.

Lin laughed and kicked open the door on the first floor. He took a few steps down the short hallway before reaching another door that led outside. He set her down, back on her feet. Through the window it was raining, somewhere in between a sprinkle and a downpour. A medium-pour.

"Thanks for falling asleep with me out of pity," Brady joked.

"Thanks for still talking to me after how horrible I've been to you." Lin put his hands in his pockets and gave Brady a funny look, one she hadn't seen on him before.

"You haven't been horrible. Really. You're great."

"I'm glad to hear it." They both went in for a goodbye hug at the same time, and both held it for a little longer than normal. Lin let go and opened the door. He gave Brady that funny look again before walking into the rain. Brady wondered if he was going to catch a cab or walk home. She watched him through the window for a couple of seconds before realizing she was still wearing his jacket. She thought he probably needed it to keep dry, so she rushed out the door and jogged over to him in the rain.

"Lin," she said. He turned to face her, water dripping down his face and starting to soak through his shirt. A few strands of damp hair hung in front of his eyes. "You'll need your jacket." She began to unzip it when he put his hand over hers.

"Keep it for now. I don't want you to catch a cold."

"But you're the one in the rain."

"So are you." Brady's hair, that had long since dried from her shower, was now slowly returning to a state of being soaked. She looked up at him through the rain, drops of water rolling down her face as well. There was that funny look again.

Lin zipped up her jacket all the way, then lifted his hand from her jacket zipper to her face. He brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear.

Brady laughed for reasons unknown to her. Maybe she felt awkward or found it humorous that they were standing in the rain like two idiots. She brushed a strand of his hair away from his face as well, trying to be funny.

"This time I'm not kidding," he said. And just like that he pulled her closer and brought his lips to hers. And they kissed. Without hesitation Brady kissed him back, holding on to the back of his shirt with her hands while he placed one hand on her lower back and his other behind her neck. Their kiss grew more passionate, mouths moving against one another's, both of them getting as close to each other as they could. A warmth spread throughout Brady in a way she'd never experienced before. Lin broke the kiss first, still holding Brady against him, both breathing heavily, not looking away from one another. She glanced down at his lips and was about to say something when Lin leaned forward and kissed her again, this time shorter but no less full of feeling. Brady wanted more, _needed_ more. But before she could say a word he let her go and took a step backwards.

Brady now understood that funny look on Lin's face because she felt it too. It was longing. Lin turned the corner before she could pull herself together, leaving her in the rain. Her jacket, _Lin's_ jacket, the only thing keeping her warm. She brought a hand to her lips and turned back to her apartment.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Soooo... long time no see. Ok that's my fault. I'm horrible. But we've been over this.**

 **I know what you're thinking, how did I come up with this _totally_ original idea of kissing in the rain? Idk, it just came to me naturally *cough* The Notebook *cough***

 **Also I just have to say that the highlight of my life is when y'all review. I just love hearing what you guys think, good or bad.**


	7. Chapter 7

"I don't even think she wanted me to kiss her. Why am I such an idiot. Every. Single. Fucking. Day. Daveed, you should not give me this much of a leash, or else stuff like this happens. I scare off pretty girls. God. I'm moving back in with my mom. Good bye." Lin flopped onto Daveed's couch with a humph and spread a hand over his eyes in self-loathing defeat.

Lin knew Daveed hadn't been expecting to be woken up in the early morning hours by a knock on his door from himself, and probably wasn't super pumped about it, but when Lin mentioned he was having Brady problems, Lin saw Daveed's annoyance die out in an instant. Lin was acutely aware that Daveed had been trying to get him and Brady together since day one (as his personal mission). So when he finished filling in Daveed on what had happened between himself and Brady the night before, he could tell that Daveed saw no problem with the situation.

"Dude, bro. What the hell are you whining about? You finally made-out with the girl you're clearly in love with. Shouldn't you be...I don't know...happy?"

"I just…" Lin rubbed his face. He hadn't gotten much sleep after the fact, and even though his mind was wide awake with the thought of having kissed her, his eyes still suffered from the lack of sleep. "I'm not sure if she likes me that way. I feel like I forced it, I didn't think it through."

Lin watched Daveed walked across the room to the window. He opened the curtains to a piercing light. "You wanna know why you feel that way?"

"Why?" Lin replied, hoping that for once Daveed had some worthwhile advice.

"Because you're an idiot. That's why."

Lin sighed and made a mental note. _Reminder: Daveed is of no use._

Daveed ignored Lin and continued. "Instead of trying to explain the reasons why you're an idiot, let's go for a walk to wake you up, and maybe the sense of it all, of how awesome this is, will shine down on you from the heavens." Lin leaned forward and pulled his dark gray beanie down over his eyes. _Maybe he's right. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I mean, she didn't slap me, so there's that._ With this in mind, though still not wholly convinced, he moved his beanie back to its proper place, pushed his hands from his jean-covered-thighs and rose from the couch. "Alright. Let's go."

…

Lin had already replayed last night over and over in his head until he was dizzy. When she had wrapped his jacket around herself, when she'd fallen asleep resting against him, when he'd carried her down the stairs laughing, when she'd ran through the rain after him. When they'd kissed. Twice. Never had he seen a girl look so… beautiful. When she looked into his eyes, before he had walked away, he thought he was dreaming. He thought she wanted him too. But he wasn't sure. Having gone over the moment so many times he couldn't tell what had been real or what he had made up.

Now outside, Lin and Daveed walked down the sidewalk. Lin let his cohort take the lead since going for a stroll was his bright idea in the first place. Plus, he didn't really care which way they went, as long as he wasn't left alone with his thoughts driving him crazy.

It was turning out to be a nice day. Minimal cars (for New York City, that is) drove beneath a clear sky. There was a bit of a breeze, and Lin noticed goosebumps on his arms. He wondered why he hadn't grabbed a jacket, until he realized the reason. And that's how his thoughts came full circle, back to her, back to the girl wearing his jacket. The girl that he didn't know existed one second, but the next second was someone who instantly brightened his day. The girl who clearly didn't know the effect she had on him, who wasn't aware of her own stunning qualities. Lin was shaken from his thoughts when Daveed waved his hand in front of his face.

"Hey, Lin, you're scaring me, looking off into the abyss like that. Like you can see ghosts or some creepy shit."

Lin shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Ghosts don't scare me half as much as my own actions do."

Daveed chuckled. "If ghosts don't even scare you, then why does she?"

Lin looked down at his shoes. "I've never felt this way. About anyone. And she doesn't even give me a second glance."

"Look," said Daveed, lowering his voice, noting the change in mood. "As an observer, I'm telling you straight: Brady is crazy for you. Cra-zy. You can't see it because your self-esteem is sporadic. One minute you're Mr. Confident and the next you're shrugging your shoulders and chalking your worth up to a garbage can. That's why you're an idiot."

Lin couldn't help but feel a little truth in what his friend was saying. Daveed was never serious, so this must mean something, even if it only meant that Daveed was far too invested in Lin's love-life.

Lin looked up from the ground, trying to put in words how confused he felt, when he realized where they were walking to. _I should have known,_ he thought.

 _Of course Daveed, the spawn of Satan himself, had not led them to a nice park or a quiet bookstore, but to a coffee shop. And no, it was not any old coffee place, but his coffee place. Where. Brady. Worked._ Luckily, it was still a little ways off, so he had time to make a run for it.

Without saying a word, Lin spun on his heel and walked in the opposite direction. He made it a couple of steps before a hand grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him back around. "Oh no you don't," Daveed said, now pushing Lin towards his very doom.

"Yes, yes I do," replied Lin, faking to the right and then spinning to the left. He barely made it a step this time before Daveed had him facing the coffee shop yet again. To Lin, Daveed reminded him of the mothers who could lift cars to save their children, except in this scenario Daveed was the mother, Lin was the car, and Daveed's need for Lin and Brady to be a couple was the child. Lin wondered how insane this dance they were doing looked to passerbys. "She might not even be in there," Daveed insisted, still steering him against his will.

"Yeah, but if she is, I'll look even more like a dork than I already do."

"Fine, fine. If she's inside, we won't go in. But if she isn't, we might as well get a large cup of coffee, sit for a while, see if she shows up…"

"No."

"Ok, a medium."

"No." Lin had his arms crossed now.

"A small?"

"No."

"Now you're just being absurd," Daveed said from behind him.

Lin was about to make another break for it when his gaze locked on something up ahead. He froze in his spot. Daveed stopped pushing him forward when he realized what had Lin's eyes transfixed. A block ahead was none other than Brady, walking straight towards them.

The first thing that ran through Lin's mind was terror. He absolutely could not face her. He wasn't ready to see the look of pity on her face. Luckily, after a second or two passed his fear died out, because she hadn't yet noticed them. She was looking down at her phone, earbuds in, the breeze lifting her loose hair. Lin couldn't help but think how pretty she looked. A couple more seconds had passed when a grin broke loose on his face at the sight of something else: Brady was wearing his jacket, the one from the night before. She slid her phone into one of its' pockets and tugged at one of its' sleeves as she turned to enter the coffee shop. Lin's smile grew until it couldn't anymore. _My jacket,_ he thought. _She's wearing my jacket._

Daveed patted Lin on the shoulder, catching onto why Lin was suddenly so happy. "That's your jacket you let her borrow, isn't it?" Lin nodded. "You can thank me later, you know, for bringing you here. It's a gift I have, doing the right thing at the right time."

Lin would've normally laughed at this absurd Daveed-esque statement, but his mind was otherwise occupied. _She likes me. She has to, if she's still wearing it. I can't believe…_

When he turned around to voice his thoughts to Daveed, he was no longer there. Clearly this meant Daveed wanted Lin to go into the coffee shop, but still Lin hesitated. For once, he didn't know the choreography to this dance and didn't know the next verse of this song.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sorry. For, ya know, not uploading anything. I have no excuses except for being a horrible person, but you all probably already knew that.**

 **It's a short chapter, but better than no chapter, right?**

 **Thanks to** **TheJubilations for encouraging me to write a chapter from Lin's perspective, you rock.**

 **I'm seriously going to upload a larger, more action-packed chapter within the next three weeks (I'm giving myself a large time frame so as not disappoint). SERIOUSLY.**

 **Thanks for reading/reviewing/favoriting, it means the world!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Brady, you're late."

Brady looked at the clock. Three minutes past seven. Her shift started at Seven AM. _My manager has absolutely no chill,_ Brady thought in annoyance.

"Sorry Jan, it's that time of month, if you know what I mean." Brady winked unabashedly and skirted past the forty year old woman, making her way towards the employees area where items were stored. It wasn't Brady's time of month, she just didn't like dealing with Jan sometimes. Little white lies like that gave her manager some peace of mind. With Jan appeased, Brady took out her headphones and placed them in her pocket with her phone. _Lin's pocket._

That one thought is all it took to bring Brady's mind back to the subject that had occupied it all last night and this morning. The kiss. The kiss to end all kisses. His hands on her waist, on her back. His arms wrapped around her, their closeness, his lips, his everything. It was too much for her to think about but it was all she could think about.

And what's even more overwhelming is her inability to figure out where they stood. One second she was grinning like a fool thinking of him, the next she was unsure of what had happened, of why he had walked away so suddenly. Did she scare him off somehow? She didn't doubt her ability to do that, she just didn't know what had caused it. She wanted to know, needed to know what was going through his mind, but she couldn't bring herself to text him, afraid of what he might say. So she kept her swirling thoughts to herself.

When she'd gotten back to her apartment the night before, Hannah was fast asleep. So Brady went into her own room and immediately wrote down everything that had happened. She didn't want to forget that feeling of absolute perfection. Up to that point her heart still hadn't stopped pounding.

This morning Brady left before Hannah had gotten up, for literally the first time ever, and was kind of glad for it, because she still didn't know how to explain the events that had transpired. She needed more time to mull over them and figure out whatever it was that needed figuring out.

Brady unzipped the jacket and put it in one of the cubbies. She didn't want Lin to walk in and see her wearing it. She wasn't sure why.

She slid her arms out of its sleeves and casually smelled it. She had washed it the night before because of how damp it had gotten in the rain, but it still smelled like him. She grinned as she put on her barista apron.

…

The whole time she worked Brady kept an eye on the door. But no Lin. She couldn't blame him for not showing up; it'd be weird to talk in this setting, with her working, and he probably didn't even know she was working today in the first place. Still, it dampened her spirits a bit every time a business woman walked through the door instead of him.

Her shift ended at twelve in the afternoon, and it couldn't come any sooner. Sometimes she enjoyed the distraction that working provided from her mind, but today she preferred focusing on what was rolling around up there. She grabbed the jacket with her phone in its pocket on her way out, along with a croissant sandwich and a water. She was so happy to finally be outside instead of in that stuffy space. She took a deep breath, relaxing herself, then slid into Lin's jacket. Zipping it up reminded her of him, when he zipped it up on her in the rain, eyes locked on hers, the other hand on her shoulder. The memory gave her chills. Brady put in her headphones, pressed play, and walked to the rhythm of her thoughts.

…

Not meaning to, her stroll led her to Bryant park, by the public library. She found a table on the path shaded by a tree. Sitting down, she took her sandwich out of its bag and took a bite. The green grass in the center of the park drew her gaze, but not her thoughts. Brady decided it was time to sort things out, to find some structure in all that had happened to her since she'd moved in with Hannah.

She thought about her dad dying, her being parentless; about what would have happened if Hannah hadn't been her friend. Hannah's kindness and trustworthiness had saved her from a life full of loneliness, and for that Brady felt she owed her friend the world. She thought about meeting the cast and how comforting it felt, being around them. They'd opened her up, made her feel lighter, as if the weight of her dad's death wasn't resting on her. She thought about all the moments with Lin; his attentive eyes seriously considering everything she said, his laugh so honest and joyful, his unassuming demeanor. When he was around, he took some of the weight of her pain away. She didn't understand it, but maybe she didn't have to. Maybe she just needed to kiss him again. By the time she finished her sandwich, her thoughts had taken on a structure that finally made a little sense.

Brady's phone buzzed, bringing her back to the present. It was a text. _Lin._ One word was all it took to jump start her heart. She eagerly unlocked her phone and opened the text. _Hey. I want to talk. Meet me at the theater at four pm, if you want._ And just like that the structure she had coaxed into her mind out of hiding launched itself out the nearest window. She couldn't tell if the text was good or bad. _What if he says he never wants to see me again?_ Brady wondered. _Or what if he says he wants to see me again and again and again?_ Either way, Brady felt anxious.

She stood up and gathered her things. She had theatre class from one-thirty to three-thirty, and it was almost one-ten already. She didn't text Lin back because his statement didn't ask for a response. She'd decided instantly after reading the text that she'd meet him. So putting her phone away, she found the nearest subway station and headed to class. For once, her mind was blank. Brady was unsure of what lied ahead, and that scared her.

…

"Michael is hilarious." Brady turned her head to the voice. It was Will, one of her friends from theatre. He was sitting to her left in the darkened performance hall. Michael, the guy Will was referring to, was at the front of the room, center stage, acting out a scene from an older play. It wasn't a typically funny scene, but Michael had a way of making everyone laugh no matter what. Brady was positive he'd go on to play the comic relief on some Broadway show. Brady smiled at Will. "How does someone get that funny?" she whispered back.

Will wasn't Brady's only friend in the class, but he was certainly the closest. He was nice and laughed at her wry jokes, making him a fast friend. She guessed he was about her age.

"Drugs."

Brady burst out with laughter at this. Her instructor, sitting a few rows ahead, turned around and gave a sharp look at the two of them. Brady mouthed _sorry_ before flicking Will.

Michael finished his performance. The class applauded as he sat and their instructor, Mr. Hall took his place. "Now, an announcement," he began. The chatter died down. "I have in my hand the names of those I have cast in our small-scale production of Les Mis." A chair squeaked. Brady held her breath. They hadn't auditioned for any roles, Mr. Hall had cast them based on in-class performance. She was hoping for some main role besides ensemble. "Everyone will be cast in the show, whether the role be big or small." Brady saw Will clasp his hands together. "So, let's get started. Maggie. You'll be playing Cosette." Sitting in front of Brady, the tension in Maggie's shoulders was released and the girl next to her gave her a congratulatory high five. "The role of Jean Valjean will be played by Mateo." A few cheers went out to him as he smiled. "Will, you'll be playing as Marius." Brady smiled at Will and gave him a side hug. His green eyes lit up at the news, and he hugged Brady back. "And Eponine will be played by Brady." Brady's eyes grew wide. She'd never been cast in anything before. It felt invigorating.

Will patted her back. "Nice Brady! You get to pine after my unrequited love!" Brady laughed and rolled her eyes. Mr. Hall continued listing names.

"No one says unrequited anymore," Brady replied. Though her thoughts were now crowded with her new role, still, somehow, Lin entered her mind too. She imagined telling him that she got cast in something and him hugging her with that contagious smile.

Mr. Hall, having finished calling names, cleared his throat. "Now, the performance is in two weeks. Remember, this isn't a full-scale production. We'll be focusing on the main songs, and be rehearsing those every day until the show, omitting Sunday. Get some sleep, eat some food, and don't get too drunk. Class dismissed."

Brady checked the time. Three-thirty five. Brady would have to rush if she wanted to get to the theater by four. Her heart jolted at the thought of seeing him. She said bye to Will, walked outside, and hailed a taxi. "Richard-Rogers Theater," she told the driver, and then she was off.

…

The taxi dropped her off outside the building. She found the door to the entrance and stared at it. A shudder ran through her. Lin was in there, and he was going to tell her something. _But what?_ _And why do I keep having to hear bad news from inside there?_ Brady knew she'd stand there, staring weirdly at a door all day if she let herself. So without overthinking it, she sucked in some air, walked towards the door, and pulled it open.

Inside was dark. Once the door shut behind her, the only source of light came from up the staircase across the room. She began to walk towards it, when, not six feet away from her, a voice in the dark said "Hey." Brady was so alarmed she nearly jumped out of her skin. Her head jerked to the left as she took a step back. A barely visible figure sat in a chair against the wall, and though she couldn't see his face, she was certain it was Lin.

"Lin you scared the hell out of me!" Brady said with a hand placed on her chest. Now she couldn't tell if her heart was pounding out of fright or nervousness. "Why is it so dark?"

"The lights don't work down here." His deep voice came out of the shadow. _Of course they don't. My luck._ Brady's eyes worked on adjusting, and she began to see him. His hair was down and not slicked back. He wore a t-shirt and jeans. Brady tucked her hair behind her ears as he rose from the chair, now standing over her. She suddenly didn't know what to do with her hands, so she held them behind her back.

"You know, in the movies, the villain is the one lurking in the shadows."

Lin smirked. She could see his eyes now. "So what you're saying is you're scared of me?"

"Uh no. You're about as scary as a Chihuahua. Actually those can be kind of scary sometimes. So maybe not a Chihuahua. Maybe just a puppy." Brady averted her eyes, embarrassed by her nervous rambling.

Lin took a step closer. "My mom had a Chihuahua. It used to scare the shit out of me."

Brady relaxed. Lin being himself put her at ease. Maybe that meant what he had to tell her wasn't so bad after all. She took a step closer too. "Yeah, I uhm…" but before Brady could think of something to say Lin cut in.

"We kissed," he said. Just when Brady was almost calm, these words sent her heart racing again. Her stupid heart was having a field day.

"We did," Brady said back. They looked at each other. Saying it out loud was like reminding themselves of what had happened.

"Well, I guess I kissed you," Lin corrected himself, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I kissed you back," Brady was quick to say, afraid he thought she didn't want him.

"You did?"

"I did."

"That's…" Lin looked at his shoes, "interesting…"

Then Brady realized something. She was tired of hiding. She didn't want to have to hide her feelings for Lin anymore.

Brady took another step towards him, making the distance between them go from acceptable to intimate. She leaned forward and gently kissed Lin, who quickly recovered from his shock and kissed her back. It only lasted a short moment before Brady pulled away and took a step back. A warmth ran through her, but she stamped it out with the fear that after putting herself out there he could still reject her. "I...I have your jacket," she said as she untied it from around her waist. "I washed it…" She held it out for him. He looked flustered, glancing from her to the jacket.

He reached for it with both hands. With one he took the jacket. With the other he held her outstretched hand. "I don't care about the damn jacket," he whispered. With that, he tossed the jacket behind him and gently pulled her closer, holding her hand.

She stepped closer to him and let out a small gasp at their proximity. His other hand slid to her upper back. "I think I might like you," he said, their faces inches apart.

Brady slowly placed a hand on his chest, nervous and excited all at once. "I think I might like you too," she whispered back, looking up at him. He smirked before closing the distance between them with a soft kiss. She kissed him back, her hand still in his.

Their kiss quickened, lips moving against one another. Brady's mind was going wild, having Lin so close to her. She moved her hand from his chest to his arm, and he slid his down her back.

Their combined passion grew, their breathing picked up, they unclasped their hands in order to hold onto each other. Brady grabbed at his sleeve, wanting to keep him close, wanting to keep his lips on hers.

But a voice outside the door brought their kiss to an abrupt end. They broke apart, breathing heavily, looking at each other, his hand still on her back. Then they heard the door handle move, and in an instant Lin pulled her behind a set of chairs, one of which he'd been sitting in. She followed his lead and ducked down, just in time as the door to the outside opened.

"He did not say that," came Jasmine's voice, stepping through the doorway into the dark.

"I swear he did," Anthony's voice responded, closing the door behind them. The two moved past the chairs to Brady's relief and made their way to the staircase. "He was all like, 'Lea's got talent, glad we chose her instead of Brady.'"

Brady stiffened at this, caught off guard at the sudden mention of her name.

"But I thought Lin liked Brady," Jasmine said. They were walking up the stairs now. Brady was confused. _They're talking about Lin?_

"Yeah, me too. I mean, he still might, he just thinks Lea is a better singer…" His voice faded as they reached upstairs and walked away. Brady sat in the darkness for a few moments. When she was sure they were gone, she slowly rose from behind the chairs. Her mind didn't race around, trying to figure out exactly what that conversation meant. Her thoughts were lethargic, putting pieces together like it was a puzzle. _Anthony heard Lin say Lea is a better singer than me. Lin told people he's glad I wasn't cast. Anthony said that._

Brady didn't feeling like crying or screaming. She just felt tired and defeated. "You said that?" She turned to face Lin with a hurt look on her face.

Lin stood up quickly. "No, no, no. I didn't say exactly that."

 _Exactly._ One word is all it took. Brady shut her eyes tight and nodded her head. Lin took a step towards her, reaching his hand for her but she jerked away and backed up towards the door. "I'm gonna go."

"Brady, wait," Lin said. Her look of calm scared him. But she had backed into the door and was opening it.

"I can't Lin… I just can't." Her voice broke at the end of the sentence and all the feeling she had been trying to hide came loose. She walked outside, chose a direction and started walking. Anywhere was better than the chaos that surrounded Lin. Her eyes welled up but she refused to let a tear fall. Flashbacks of the last time she'd ran out of that theater made her want to be stronger than before.

Lin too remembered last time, and he wasn't about to stay inside and repeat the event. He ran in front of her and stopped, forcing her to stop too. "Whoa Brady, look at me." His voice was soft and he lowered his head to meet her downcast eyes. "Hey, hey." She looked up. His eyes looked different and she realized it was because of the water in them, tears held back. "I'm sorry."

Brady looked appalled. "You're sorry?"

"Brady, don't…"

"Don't what? Freak out like last time. I'm sorry that what you say and do hurts me, and that I react like any other person would."

"So you believe Anthony."

"I don't know what I believe anymore Lin. All I know is that there are highs and lows with you, and the lows are just too damn painful. I thought my life was headed in the right direction but every time you get involved i get so turned around and confused again. Maybe it's because I care too much and you don't care enough, maybe not, but whatever it is I'm tired of it. Too many people have left me."

"Brady." A tear escaped Lin. "I'm not going to leave you."

"Then why did you say that to Anthony."

"I didn't say that to Anthony."

"So he lied?"

Lin became silent. Brady wanted more than ever to cry into his arms, let him comfort her, but not if he said those things about her, those things that stung her pride in herself and her trust in him.

"Yes or no," Brady said. She studied his face.

"No, but there's more to it than what he said, let me explain…"

"I need to think."

"Brady, please…"

"I'm gonna go lie down." Brady was in a daze as she turned away from this man she did not recognize.

"Stop," Lin begged, taking a few steps after her.

"Lin, I'm tired of this," she said, looking back. "Leave me alone."

Lin stopped walking. He was afraid of making matters worse than they already were. He let her walk away. He knew he'd hurt her. But he also knew that he'd try to get her back. And this time, he wouldn't fuck it up.

* * *

 **Heyyyyyyy I'm baccckkkkk.**

 **Sorry this took so long, I'm unworthy of y'alls follows and favorites and reviews (but I still love you all so much for them so thanks)**

 **Literally Idk why this took forever, all that happens is Brady eats a sandwich idkidkidk**

 **I would like to mention ONCE MORE that Lin is HAPPILY MARRIED to his BEAUTIFUL SMART wife Vanessa and they have a SON Sebastian and I want that to NEVER change. This is a work of FICTION. Do you know what that is? It's MUMBO JUMBO that farted out of my trash brain. Honestly if it bothers you that much a) don't read it b) pretend Brady is a young Vanessa or c)murder me. I imagine that last one might be hard to do but it's still an option.**

 **Also I haven't read over this whole chapter yet so there's probably a lot of errors and stuff, I'll get to those.**

 **I'd like to say the next chapter will be up in two weeks but we all know how that went last time sooo I'm not even gonna say that.**

 **Thank you all for reading it means a lot ily ok thx ok bye**


	9. Chapter 9

Brady closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth, repeat. Again. And Again. _I am capable,_ she thought. _Make mom and dad proud._

She opened her eyes to see the velvet curtain separating herself from a crowd of over a hundred people. The contrast between a fabric so soft and a crowd so daunting did not elude her. _Just breathe_ she reminded herself as she wiped her palms on her costume. Her whole body shook as she went over her lines in her head one last time. In all candidness, she knew her part as Eponine perfectly well. What she didn't know was if a certain someone would be in the audience, and if that person's presence would fuck everything up.

Without warning the curtain was opening and there was no time to run for her life. Oddly enough, as the parted curtain revealed a blinding spotlight, an empty stage, and an audience she couldn't quite make out, an unearthly calm swept over Brady like a caress from God himself. Her heart rate slowed, her mind cleared, and a firm determination set in: she was an actress (in her own sense) and nobody, not even Lin, whether he was out there or not, was going to take this moment from her.

As she took center stage, Brady let loose her inner Eponine. It wasn't difficult for her to transform into the character; both Eponine and Brady felt cast away from a love they had once wanted more than anything. Lin was once her Marius. With tears filling her eyes she expressed every word with a pain that even she thought might be real.

The song ended what seemed like moments after it had begun and, lifting her head, she looked out into the crowd as the final note danced from her lips. She saw all her friends: Hannah, Renee, Oak, Daveed and more. But it was the sight of Lin that made her heart skip a beat. She couldn't see much of him, but she did see a sad sort of smile on his face.

Brady exited the stage to the sound of cheers and was welcomed backstage with even more applause. Will, also in costume, congratulated her with a hug. "You are spectacular," he said with wide eyes and a dumbfounded expression. "I mean, I knew that from the moment I met you, but still. That was just… wow. Did you see the scout? She was smiling the whole time."

"Scout?"

"Yeah, talent scout. Mr. Hall pointed her out to me, front row. And by the look on her face you really got her attention."

"What?" Brady said with a mixture of excitement and confusion. Now her mind was in full-out overload. Not only had she just performed in front of a crowd, but she had also seen Lin for the first time in weeks (long, toilsome weeks). Why not add a talent scout into the all the fun? Even better, make it a scout that was potentially interested in her. It was all too much for Brady. She led Will to a set of open chairs, grabbing a water along the way, and sat down.

As Will sat down Brady watched him nod at Michael who was about to go onstage for his song. "God, can he just ask you out already," Will said as Michael nodded back and then smiled at Brady.

"I thought you liked him," Brady replied. Michael had become a topic of discussion between the two as of late. Neither could deny his good looks or his sense of humor. They also couldn't deny that he'd been paying more and more attention to Brady.

"Kind of," Will shrugged. "But you can have him. I'm pretty sure he's as straight as a one-way sign. It's a shame, really."

"Yeah." Despite his attractive qualities, Brady couldn't bring herself to thinking of Michael romantically. She knew why, and that reason was sitting just a curtain away.

Staying away from Lin was digging a knife into Brady's back. It was torture not being near him, but every time she got closer he always found a way to push her away or make her feel stupid somehow. She was afraid if she got too attached he'd leave her, along with a gaping hole in her heart, just like the two she already had for her parents.

…

Not long after the show ended, and after taking their bows, the cast and crew gathered backstage. Champagne was brought out, music played, and audience members started filing their way through the door to join in.

Brady kept a keen eye on the door as she talked with her castmates about how the show had gone. Hannah had agreed to meet her there after the show, but it wasn't Hannah who Brady was looking for.

Brady didn't understand why she had all her attention focused on him when she was the one who cut ties in the first place. Shouldn't she not care where he was or what he did anymore? By now she could have easily gone out with Michael, who seemed like a decent, interesting person. But still she hesitated. It annoyed the crap out of her. Lin annoyed the crap out of her. She couldn't get him out of her head. Yet he didn't annoy her in the slightest. It was all very confusing and made Brady question her own sanity.

In any case, Brady spotted Hannah in the crowd and waved her over. Hannah gushed over Brady's performance before saying in a hushed tone, "Fair warning, Lin is coming backstage. Probably to win you back. I can either punch him or officiate your marriage. Your call."

Brady was about to suggest a less-extreme alternative when she saw Lin and the rest of the gang walk through the door. In reality, she and everyone else in the room watched them walk in. Word had spread that the cast of Hamilton was in the audience, including THE Lin-Manuel Miranda. Not surprisingly a crowd formed around her famous friends as Brady's castmates and other audience members asked for photos and autographs.

Brady and Hannah watched as a young boy, probably family of someone who was in the show, went up to Lin and asked him to sign his Les Mis playbill. Brady smiled as Lin crouched down to the little boy's height and, smiling, took the boy's pen and book. After signing it Lin said a few more words to the boy as he handed it back to him. The boy laughed and then left. Lin stood up and moved his attention to the next person, one of Brady's classmates. As he smiled for a selfie with her Brady felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Excuse me, but are you Brady?" Brady turned to see a fifty-something, smartly dressed woman with pin-straight brown hair and glasses looking at her. She also held a notebook in one hand and a phone in the other.

"Yes, I am," Brady replied cheerily.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Wende Perkins." Wende extended a hand that Brady shook. "I'm a talent agent working with a couple shows here in town."

If there was one sentence that could get Brady's full attention, it was that one. Automatically Brady widened her smile and straightened her posture. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Did you like the show?"

"Yes, yes I did. I took special notice, however, of your performance. I'd like to schedule a meeting with you. Come to my office at ten a.m. tomorrow." Wende held out a business card that Brady took with both hands. "We can talk more then. Sound good?"

Feeling speechless, Brady managed to blurt out a flustered 'yes' and a 'thank-you-so-much' before Wende said goodbye and disappeared into the crowd. She turned around to look for Hannah, the angel on her shoulder, wanting to tell her everything only to find the exact opposite: the devil on her shoulder, Daveed.

With a cheesy smile he opened his arms wide. "My star pupil," he said just as a proud mom would. Brady couldn't help but chuckle as she begrudgingly let Daveed hug her. Renee, Oak and some of the others also managed to make their way through the bustling crowd to Brady's side. She laughed as they piled giant bouquets of flowers into her arms.

"You all cheered like crazy people at curtain call," she teased, craning her neck over the mountain of roses and tulips.

"Ain't nothin' wrong with a lil bit o' crazy, sweetie," Daveed said, keeping to his motherly theme and patting her on the head.

"Yeah," Renee chimed in. "How else were we supposed to cheer after your show-stopping performance!" Renee straightened Brady's flowers to keep them from toppling out of her arms.

Daveed & Company continued to pour over how wonderful she had been until a few minutes later more requests for autographs and photos were made, and Brady told her friends to go ahead and meet said requests.

Realizing that her flowers were going to fall out of her arms any second now, Brady found an open table across the room and began to make her way over to it very slowly. Left and right she dodged people, peering over her mountain of flowers, when about halfway there someone bumped her from the side, sending most of the boquetes scattered across the floor. Being in too good of a mood to be mad about it, she knelt to the floor and began collecting them one by one. That is, until another set of hands began collecting them too. She was about to say something along the lines of "Get away from my flowers you thief" when her eyes met the culprit: Lin.

"Hey stranger," he greeted Brady with a smile.

"Hey there," Brady replied. She smiled back too, hoping he couldn't see how awkward she felt.

The two continued picking up bouquets in a charged silence until all had been accounted for. Both stood back up and looked at eachother.

Lin, of course, had to look good, because Brady could never catch a break as long as he was around. He had on a black sweater with dark wash jeans and black dress shoes. His hair was down.

"You were brilliant out there." Lin dropped his eyes from hers. _Was he nervous?_ He shuffled his feet only to nearly drop one of the bouquets.

"Thank you, Lin."

"You really...you were vibrant and... and it was so real...I...just really liked it, I mean you, I mean out there, performing, it was good. Not good, but great." Lin cleared his throat. "But I'll stop holding your flowers hostage," he said as he stepped towards her and poured the flowers into her arms, all except one bouquet Brady hadn't seen yet.

"Thank you," Brady said again. Because apparently that's all the english she could remember at the moment.

"And, this one's from me." He placed the flowers on the very top of the stack. They were pure white orchids. They reminded Brady of snow.

"Thank you, again. They're wonderful." Brady thought she saw a blush rise on Lin's cheeks but it was gone before she could be sure.

He stood there for a moment, looking like he was going to say something else. He removed his hands from his pockets, clenched his fists, unclenched them, then turned and walked away.

Brady watched him until the crowd swallowed his figure back into its form. She closed her eyes with furrowed eyebrows. A whirlwind of conflicting emotions battled inside her.

…

It took an act of God and then some to get Brady and Hannah back to their apartment. From talking backstage to maneuvering flowers to a post-show get-together, Brady began to wonder if she would never escape. Not that she didn't enjoy every second of it, just that she was absolutely tired. Thank goodness for Hannah, who, sensing her friend's fatigue, told Brady's cast mates something along the lines of "neighbor's dead cat"..."funeral tomorrow"..."gotta get up early"... to which Brady agreed, and the two made a quick escape.

"So, just your average night, huh?" Hannah remarked as she locked the apartment door behind them.

Brady walked into the kitchen and rested her hoard of flowers on the counter. "Yeah, maybe we should've done something."

"Like seen a show."

"Or performed in a show."

"Or talked to a talent agent."

"Oh well, our loss."

"What a shame. Well, I'm gonna turn in, this uneventful evening took it out of me." As Hannah walked past Brady towards her room, she gave her a squeeze on the shoulder. "You were incredible out there, don't you forget it."

Now that Brady was alone, with only her reflections on the day's unfoldings to occupy her mind, she found that she wasn't tired anymore. She smiled to herself as she arranged the flowers neatly on the counter, placing as many as she could in vases with water. Then she got to Lin's flowers. White flowers, green stem, wrapped in white tissue paper with a blue ribbon holding it all together. She liked the elegant look of it.

Brady found her best vase and filled it with water. Then she delicately untied the blue ribbon and removed the white tissue paper. Except underneath this tissue paper was another blue ribbon tied around the stems. Not only was this ribbon holding the flowers together, but something else, a small square wrapped in white tissue paper. Brady curiously undid this second ribbon. Out fell the wrapped bundle onto the counter. Brady placed the flowers in the vase, then turned her attention to the object.

It was a square maybe the size of her phone, only lighter. Hesitantly she took it in her hands and started carefully removing the tissue paper, afraid of breaking it. Brady removed the last bit of white paper.

In her hands sat a cassette tape. She held it in her palms like one might a baby chick, but looked at it as if it were a spider. She flipped it over to find writing, Lin's writing, borderline illegible, saying 'Lady.' She had no idea what that meant, whether to be offended or flattered, but either way it could've said 'elevator music' and still her heart would have raced just as quickly as it did now. Here was a treasure chest and all she had to do was unlock it. But where was the key…

It took her fifteen minutes rifling through four boxes from the back of her closet to find it. She didn't even know she still had it. Of course, she had to change out the batteries to get it running again, and sighed in relief as it powered on. If her life was a movie, she felt like she would've whispered 'atta girl' to the old cassette player at its resurrection. It was fortunate that Brady was an old soul; she liked the physical versions of things: books on paper, money in bills, and music on records/CDs/cassettes, you name it.

She wasted no time after that. She shakily inserted her earbuds and cassette into the player. She walked into her room and shut the door, not bothering to turn the lights on. She lay her back on her bed, atop the covers, and rested the device on her stomach.

For a brief second Brady felt a whiff of embarrassment. What if she was making a big deal out of nothing? What if it's nothing more than a playlist of 80s rock? Nothing more than a friendly gesture?

Yet, the spark of hope lit in her chest again, and her fears vanished. She wasn't sure what she was hoping for, wasn't sure what she wanted, but knew she had to find out.

She pressed play.

…

 _Bang Bang Bang._

"Lin."

 _Bang Bang Bang._

"Lin, open this goddamn door."

Brady's eyes accusatory and voice like a dagger, she stood in front of an apartment door with a wreath on it, one hand on her hip and the other a fist. She went to knock again when a noise came from the other side. The door opened.

"Officer, please, I'm innocent," came Lin's voice. He casually leaned against the door frame in the same dark outfit he had been wearing earlier. He looked down at her with an eyebrow raised. This was a contrast to the timid Lin from earlier backstage, but this was his territory now, and Brady was sure he knew what she was fuming about.

"I'm not here to play games, Miranda," said Brady as she stormed past him into his apartment.

"Well come, in why don't you." Lin turned on his heel with a small smirk playing on his lips. The door shut behind him.

Brady wasn't typically one to stroll into people's homes unannounced, but she had had it with Lin and his string-pulling. She needed an end to all this once and for all, if only for her own sanity.

Brady stood in the front of what seemed to be a living room and gave Lin the most defiant look she could muster. She reached into her coat pocket and took out the cassette, holding it in the air.

"What the hell is this?" she demanded.

"A cassette," Lin remarked.

"Oh, so now we're being smart with each other, are we? Is that what you want? Well, you know what I want? For you to stop messing with me. That's what."

"Messing with you?" Lin crossed his arms and took a step towards her, an almost cocky confidence apparent on his face. "I thought it was sweet. You don't like the songs?"

"I do, but that's not th…"

"It was just an innocent gesture. Nothing to get upset over. Coffee?" Lin walked past her towards a doorway which he disappeared into. Brady let out a groan and looked at the ceiling. _That son of a… he knows exactly what he's doing… I'll show him._ Brady stomped after him and found herself in a nice kitchen. Lin was opening a cabinet, removing coffee filters.

"Stop that. Stop acting like you don't know."

"Know what?" Lin said innocently.

"I know you know what." Lucky for Lin the kitchen island separated him from Brady, who felt the growing urge to kick his shins or something.

"I'm sorry, looks like you'll have to spell it out for me."

"You know this was a low blow." Brady wiggled the cassette in front of her. "You can't just mess with people's feelings like this. Thinking you could win me over this easily, how dare you. You know what position I was in, how torn I felt. Well it won't work, I'll tell you that." Brady was so infuriated she wasn't sure she knew what she was saying, but was sure Lin understood.

"Well, it worked didn't it?" Lin said as he poured the coffee grains into the coffee maker.

"What?"

"I mean, if you really hate me all that much, you wouldn't be here, would you? You would've ignored the tape. By the way, how did you listen to that thing? I thought it'd at least take you a couple days to find a cassette player."

"I...I…" Brady was at a loss for words.

"Do you want any sugar with this?" Lin looked over his shoulder at her with that innocent look again, reminding her of her anger at him. His whole demeanor was a ruse, an act she had no patience for.

Brady thought back to earlier that night. When she had pressed play. The first song, "No Good Deed" from Wicked, floated to her ears. She wasn't sure what Lin meant by putting it in there. Then it was "The Phantom of the Opera." Then "A Whole New World," "That Would Be Enough" and so on. It didn't take long for Brady to realize these were all songs that she and Lin had a memory attached to. They were all songs they shared. There was the song she and him had danced to on the rooftop, the one she sang with him at her audition, the Titanic theme when she fell asleep on him. All the songs they shared were there, and lying in her bed, in the dark, the memories came flooding in, as did her feelings for him. God, she liked him beyond words - And this made her more mad than ever before. The fact that he would sink to this level to mess with her heart pulled her from bed and straight to his apartment. She would have it all out, here and now.

"No, Lin. I don't want your sugar. I don't want your coffee. I want to know what made you want to pull a stunt like that when it was your stupid comments that hurt me in the first place."

"It wasn't my comments, it was Anthony's." Lin set down the coffee pot a little loudly and turned to face Brady. She could see his cool demeanor melting, slowly, into anger, and she was glad for it, though she didn't think he had the right to be angry.

"Which you said were true."

"No, you didn't let me explain. You left." Lin's voice raised to Brady's level. He placed his palms on the island between them, leaning forward. "You know, running away doesn't fix anything."

"What, you've never had anyone say no to you before? Sorry I didn't swoon at the fact that you told Anthony I was a crappy singer," Brady shot back. She wanted to see how far she could push him. She wanted to hurt him like he did her.

"You don't have the context."

"In what fucking context can what you said about me be a good thing, Lin?" Brady hated that her voice shook in the slightest.

"Lea was in the room, Brady. She was standing right there. Tommy was telling her what made her stand out, why she got the part over you and the others, something about her voice. Fuck, I don't know, maybe I nodded my head to agree with Tommy, maybe I said something like 'glad you're apart of the cast now,' but I swear I didn't explicitly say anything Anthony said I did. You know him. You know he'd exaggerate for a story. Yeah, maybe I implied some of those things but God Brady it wasn't on purpose, it was in the moment. If you had only listened to me..."

Brady cut in. She believed Lin, but his story didn't make her any less mad at him.

"Oh so now it's my fault. You can't do anything wrong, can you?" Brady turned on her heel and walked out the doorway back into the living room, making her way to the front door.

Lin's footsteps followed behind her. "Were you not listening when I said running away doesn't solve problems?" He jogged to Brady's side and put an arm in front of her to keep rampaging Brady from reaching the door. He looked at her, then at the wall, then back to her. "Fine, leave if you want, I won't stop you."

Brady looked down at his arm that was stopping her. "So this is just some weird side-hug? Good to know." She shoved his arm down and walked the last couple steps to the door. Just before she reached it, though, she turned around to make another comment only to see Lin taking deliberate steps towards her.

Only he didn't stop, he walked right into her, pushing his lips onto hers.

 _Finally._ Brady didn't realize it until now, but this is why she came here. Not to say she wasn't still mad. No, her anger towards him didn't fade, not in the slightest. It may have even grown a bit. But her desire for him was there, and now it had increased tenfold.

At Lin's sudden contact the two stumbled back until Brady's back was against the door. Their lips fought hungrily as Lin's hands tangled into her hair and Brady's hands clutched at his shirt.

The doorknob dug into Brady's back as his body pressed into hers, but that was the least of her concerns. All she cared about was getting as physically close to him as possible. She dropped her coat on the floor and kicked it to the side.

Their lips parted for a moment and they gasped for breath in unison. Both still looked equally mad at one another, but what was once anger had turned into passion.

"I hate you." Brady said between breaths. And she meant it. She hated that she couldn't get enough of him.

"You're the worst" Lin shot back before their mouths crashed together again. He lifted her off the ground by her thighs and she wrapped her legs around him in return. He slid his hands all the way from her the back side of her thighs up to her lower back. Here her shirt was rising up, so Lin's hand met the skin right above her jeans, skin-on-skin contact that they both craved. He kept going, moving his hands up her back, underneath her shirt, and then back down again.

He then began carrying her, slowly, back towards the couch in the living room. Brady almost sighed in disappointment when he took his lips away from hers, only to find them, seconds later, ravaging her neck. She let out a gasp and digs her nails into his back in response.

They reached the couch and Lin, mouth still on her neck, laid her down on it. He hovered over her, one knee resting between her legs, and held her by the back of her head and the middle of her back so that their torsos were pressed together.

"Kiss me," Brady ordered. Lin immediately returned his mouth to hers, to which Brady slipped her tongue inside. She pulled Lin towards her so that she was pressed between the couch and him.

Lin pulled his lips just barely off of hers. "Why do you have to be so hot," he breathed as he brushed his lips against hers.

"Can you not be charming for two fucking second," Brady sighed back. She brought her mouth back to his and nibbled his lower lip. She thought she heard a moan from Lin in response, but wasn't sure. She did, however feel him kiss her more passionately, causing her to do the same.

Not a moment later, Lin's body moved ever so slightly against Brady's. The friction set her ablaze. Brady, aroused to an extreme, moved her hips against his just barely.

At this Lin paused and looked down at her. Brady met his eyes. He wasn't angry anymore. Neither was she. His eyes had that funny look in them that she had noticed the night it was raining, a look she now yearned for.

"Yeah?" asked Lin in a deep, throaty voice.

"Yeah." Brady answered. She knew what he meant.

…

Brady's eyes opened slightly, yawned, and rolled on her left side to check the time. As her eyes adjusted she saw a bedside table that was not hers. Weird. She looked around further, seeing a wood floor that was not hers, a picture that was not hers, a _room_ that was not hers.

Then all the memories from the night before came back. _Oh shit._

Slowly, Brady rolled from laying on her left side, to her back, and then turned her head to the right, to the rest of the bed.

There, asleep, lay Lin. Shirtless. Shirtless Lin. Hair-tousled, sleeping, shirtless Lin. _Oh shit._

That was when Brady realized she was completely and utterly naked.

"Oh shit."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

Here we are, 364 days after I published chapter 1.

 _And we've only gotten to chapter 9._

I'm well aware that this probably makes me your least favorite author ever, a title I so humbly accept, but I hope me publishing this chapter will make you hate me less. No? Yeah, I figured…

Anyways, I just wanted to give a quick shout out to some people I wanna thank for sticking with / supporting this lil fic, so here's to

TheJubilations , TheMagentaColor , Broadwaylovermlp22 , TheBookishGirl7 , PJOandHP4life , Thatwritermadeofpotatoes , the trash bin

And many, many more.

I'll be honest, I've looked at every single profile of the 60 people who favorited this fic, 85 people who follow it, and anyone who commented on it because I appreciate you guys so much and because I have this not-creepy love for you all.

Again, sorry I haven't updated in a butt-long time (yes, that is a precise unit of measurement of time). It doesn't mean I don't love ya'all (in, again, a non-creepy way), it just means I'm the worst. Like Burr.

p.s The cassette is called "lady" cuz it's their ship name ( Lin plus Brady equals Lady) ur welcome


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